


Acceptance

by Judy_The_Dreamer, Trashcanakin



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, BAMF Darcy Lewis, BAMF Jane Foster, Battle, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Bruce Banner Has Issues, Canon Divergence - Post-Thor: The Dark World, Darcy Lewis Feels, F/M, Fate & Destiny, Feminist Themes, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Meet-Ugly, Minor Violence, Pining, Post-Avengers (2012), Pre-Relationship, Quantum Mechanics, Reed Richards critical, Romantic Soulmates, Scientific Research, Scientist Wrangler Darcy Lewis, Slow Burn, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Stephen Strange/Loki if you blink, Steve Rogers Is a Good Bro, Team as Family, Tony Stark Is a Good Bro, anti-establishment themes, btw if anybody ever wants me to write that I'm game, shy and avoidant Bruce, smart Darcy Lewis, this fic has big brain energy, unconventional soulmate mechanics, vegetarian Bruce Banner, wrongly perceived self-harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:08:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22954603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Judy_The_Dreamer/pseuds/Judy_The_Dreamer, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trashcanakin/pseuds/Trashcanakin
Summary: Darcy was about ninety percent certain that she never wanted to meet any of her soulmates. All three of them had left their unique mark on her, some more horrifying than others. The romance was well and truly dead before it had even started. Good thing working for the Avengers and wrangling scientists is more than enough to keep a girl busy. Especially since the most dangerous of the lot poses such an enticing mystery...
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Darcy Lewis, Clint Barton/Phil Coulson, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Jane Foster & Darcy Lewis, Jane Foster/Thor, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Comments: 46
Kudos: 345
Collections: Marvel Rare Pair Bang 2019





	1. Steal the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome, sweet reader! I'm so glad you found your way to my first entry for the Marvel Rare Pair Bang 2019. Over the past few months Trashcanakin and I have labored to bring you a great Electric Green experience. I hope you will enjoy it and drop some love in the shape of comments or kudos if you feel like it. Expect one new chapter a day for the next week. 
> 
> Story/writing is by yours truly. Same name on Discord and judy-the-dreamer on Tumblr.
> 
> Art is by the amazingly talented Trashcanakin. Want to see more of his art? Visit trashcanakin on Tumblr and Zainniko on Deviantart.  
> (The derivative banner was made by me, a complete noob.)
> 
> Thanks also to the awesome EmmettM2025 for betareading my scatterbrained fic and polishing it to a high shine. Thank you so much for jumping in with so little time on the clock!

Up until her second week of college Darcy had never fully understood how much of modern society still clung to antiquated precepts. Of course, she had always known that soulmates were a big thing for some people. The evidence was everywhere: from teenage girls going moon-eyed over flashy magazine spreads, to the elderly boasting about matched grandchildren at the weekly bingo meet. Yet, it had not quite hit her how soulmates were of any importance in her personal life. 

No, Darcy did not go bananas over the universe plastering an arbitrary sentence on her skin, because she had _a plan_. That plan involved a finely-tuned GPA, a college degree in politics, and a fruitful career in social activism. She was very proud to say it had been smooth sailing until her college turned into a madhouse over the exact thing she'd been ignoring for so long. 

Soulmates, you've got to love them.

The shift in attitude was very subtle, however, and she barely noticed anything until a guy approached her at lunch and brazenly asked her ‘if she was reserved’. Darcy had managed to successfully weaponize her soy latte by the time she realized what ‘reserved’ even referred to. She’d sent the soaked freshman off with the firm reassurance that she was not in any way ‘reserved’ and hoped from the bottom of her heart that she never would be. Afterwards, she’d had a good laugh about it in the privacy of her dorm room and written the entire incident off as a horribly misplaced pick-up line. Boy, was she wrong.

The second week of college is when shit truly went down. Like every other year, the Universe decided that she’d very well had enough of playing the absent parent and afflicted every newly-minted adult on the planet with a soulmark. Thus, she gave the starting shot for a week that Darcy would euphemistically call ‘full-blown madness’, but that Fox News titled ‘the race to happiness’.

Suddenly, every stranger on the street seemed to want to know what words were decorating her skin, who she thought they belonged to, and why she wasn’t trying to track them down. The barrage of attention was enough to make even a social flower like Darcy wither and die. For four blissful days she counted herself lucky that the Universe had apparently skipped her chimney as she doled out her presents. Then, her marks set in.

The big morning happened something like this: her roommate screaming like a banshee right next to her head, Darcy startling awake and bashing her head against the dresser as she fell out of bed, and a long, uncomfortable trip to the emergency room during which she’d cried more than she had over her beloved cat dying in eight grade. (Not because of the bump on her forehead, though the concerned nurses definitely thought she was an absolute wuss after.) Needless to say, it was an experience she’d much rather forget. 

Unfortunately, the Universe was a bitch and did not care one whit for what little Darcy Lewis wanted in life. Darcy’s marks were plenty, highly visible, and most of all grotesque. A true triple threat.

All things considered, it was bad enough that she’d received a mark. Soulmarks were infuriating in how they refused to comply with any kind of rhyme or reason. Scientists had broken their heads and their reputations by trying to figure out why some people got the first spoken words, others a name, and the most unfortunate a seemingly random sentence. Finding your soulmate was either a very long wait or dumb luck. Neither of which made Darcy experience any of the fuzzy, romantic feelings that the books and lifestyle manuals described. Her marks made her feel cold and angry. Most of all indignant, because the Universe had judged her soul and found it too heavy for her to bear alone. And, going by the marks, it hadn't just been split down the middle either. Darcy's soul had been hung, drawn and quartered in the great trial of love. Which was more than enough proof that the Universe didn't know shit about how kick-ass Darcy Lewis was. 

In grand total, three marks were taking up real estate on Darcy's skin. Three strangers that Darcy knew nothing about except for the fact that they were all unique and nothing like each other. Frankly, it was fascinating how much the imprints of their personalities differed. How was it possible that one woman could attract so many contrasting individuals? The conundrum definitely gave drunk Darcy lots of food for thought, even if she loudly wished they'd express their unique identities in less eye-catching ways.

The mark that had got her roommate to scream at seven in the morning was the biggest headache of the three, and by far the most difficult to hide. Etched in the soft tissue of her lower left arm, it stretched from the inside of her wrist all the way up to her elbow and tended to give people the impression that Darcy Lewis must be a deeply troubled individual. Not even on two hands could she count the incidents in which she'd been dragged to the hospital or the student councillor by a concerned citizen thinking she'd mutilated herself to gain attention. Then, Darcy would have to roll her eyes and joke that the Universe had wanted her to never forget her own name.

 _DARCY!_ Her forearm practically screamed to whoever had the singular pleasure of seeing her with bare arms.

And she kind of had to give it to those annoying concerned citizens. From afar, the aggressive lettering did sort of appear like scar tissue left over from a very intense encounter with a carving knife, possibly with a deranged criminal attached at the other end. Entire Hollywood PR campaigns could have drawn inspiration from the font on Darcy's arm to promote their horror films. (A fact that Darcy had gleefully taken advantage of during a few Halloween parties.) 

Objectively, this mark did not paint the best picture of the person she shared part of her soul with and was entirely unhelpful in pinning down their identity. Literally every passerby in the street could tell what her name was with that kind of mark, which is why she was usually very careful with keeping it covered up. Only the few lucky boyfriends she'd brought back to her dorm had seen it up close so far, but that had been enough to make some of them feel like they'd better never return.

In comparison, Darcy's second mark was pretty tame and never sent any of her boyfriends running. The thing that bothered her about this one was that she could make heads nor tails of it. The mark curled around her ribcage in multiple, long-winded sentences that resembled the ramblings of a mad professor. Even the handwriting reminded Darcy of doctor's notes and pretentious Harvard graduates. In a bid to reassure herself of her soulmate not being a boorish, old college professor, she'd attempted to decipher the mark. In the end, Darcy had just about enough maths classes under her belt to recognize that some words were related to physics, but she'd given up on researching them after she'd fallen asleep in the library for the third time. _That was that._ Once the research had lost its appeal, so had the mark. Darcy moved on.

Now, her third soulmark, that was an interesting one. _You realize we could break you into little pieces, right?_ could be read on her right shin. The words were arranged in a jumbled mess with uneven spacing and letters seemingly slipping down her skin. On her best days, Darcy sympathized with the horribly confused man attached to that part of her soul. On her worst, she couldn't even look at the mark without terror gripping her heart. This made it the only one of her soulmarks that Darcy kept covered up to fend off more than strangers' misplaced interest. She didn't need that stress in her life, not when there were deadlines to catch and exams to be studied for.

By the end of that initial trip to the hospital, Darcy had made the executive decision to never let any stranger, soulmate or not, decide how she lived her life. So, the next day, she bought a ton of long-sleeved shirts, swore off shorts and skirts, and point-blank told any guy that asked her if she was 'reserved' that he could join in line behind three crazies. That attitude made her life significantly more bearable. Until she started making close friends, that was. Close friends like Jane, who were ever inquisitive and Darcy cared too much about to ever lie to.

Frankly, Darcy couldn’t quite recall what had inspired Jane to start talking about soulmarks with her. The topic had simply sprung into being from a haze of grant-induced excitement and cheap piña coladas. They’d ridden the high of success right through town, visiting every bar and shack along the road, and wound up in lounge chairs on the roof of the lab of all places.

The night sky above New Mexico had stretched out above them like an inky black canopy, stars scattered across its expanse. They shone a lot brighter here than Darcy had ever known back in Massachusetts. She’d expected the absence of light pollution to make the world darker, but instead she’d found that it threw the breadth of the Universe into sharp detail, and the stars were merely the diamonds sparkling on top of the crown. She’d started to understand why Jane was so enamoured with them.

The scientist in question had been in the middle of explaining how most of the stars they were watching actually had burned out a long time ago, when she’d suddenly fallen silent, her gaze fixed on some indeterminable point in the sky.

Darcy, who’d switched from nursing cocktails to a cold beer ages ago, shifted inside her blanket cocoon to watch her more closely. It wasn’t unusual for Jane to zone out in the middle of a conversation, but it rarely happened when the subject was something she had a vested interest in. Jane was perhaps the most driven person Darcy had ever had the pleasure to meet. An awesome boss and just the right amount of crazy to turn her on the establishment to pursue her own dream. Stars should have had her at the edge of her seat, bouncing in excitement to share her vision. So, either the intoxication had finally given her the epiphany she needed to build the Einstein-Rosen bridge, or Darcy was going to play witness to a bout of truly epic drunk philosophizing. What eventually emerged from Jane’s brain didn’t exactly fit either category.

‘You ever think that the Universe might be a star? I mean…’ Jane hesitated, her scientific brain struggling with how to best translate the very unscientific topic. ‘I know She doesn’t actually exist, that She’s just another social construct fed to us by the Church and then the Media, but what if she did? Would she be looking down upon us, like a star?’

Darcy sighed. She already didn’t like where this was going. ‘I don’t know, Janey. You’re the one with a partial degree in quantum physics. You tell me what shape the Universe takes on a Sunday.’

Jane seemed to catch onto the undercurrent of irritation in her voice and turned to give Darcy her full attention. One of Jane’s eyebrows lifted in curiosity. ‘I thought you’d have big ideas about the propaganda aspect of the soulmate ideology, Miss political science major. Seems weird that you don’t have much to say about it.’ 

And this was exactly why Darcy thought her boss was part bloodhound, because she sniffed out secrets like a seasoned detective. Once she’d caught the scent of something, she’d never let it go, which was part of the reason why she was out here in New Mexico chasing a statistical improbability, while all the other bright minds in the astrophysics field were giving lectures at universities and headed research centres. Darcy was going to have to throw her a bone to get her to back off.

Her buzz now well and truly gone, she chugged the last half of her beer to buy herself some time. What to tell? Over the past few months, she and Jane had grown close, but Darcy wouldn’t call them intimate friends yet. There were too many expectations and boundaries of the boss and intern variety left for her to feel comfortable sharing a pretty well-kept secret of hers. Furthermore, she doubted that Jane would appreciate her launching into an anti-soulmate diatribe. There was a reason that most friendships Darcy had formed in the past few years had ended with a polite smile and an agreement to disagree. And Jane’s view on soulmates and other such paraphernalia was a mystery. Darcy had never even seen a soulmark anywhere on her skin. She might be one of those dreadful, mark-less idealists who thought soulmates were the height of romance, although her steadfast support of science counted somewhat in her favour.

Darcy finished her beer and squashed the can against the arm of her lounge chair. Jane was watching her patiently, her eyes bright and much less intoxicated than Darcy would have liked. What the hell, she might as well get it over with while the liquid courage held. 

‘ _I hate soulmarks_ ,’ she very nearly spat, years of suppressed frustration bubbling to the surface. ‘I despise everything they stand for. Their unpredictable nature, the lack of choice, the supposed romance, I hate the lot.’

Strangely, Jane didn’t seem in the least taken aback by the vehemence of Darcy’s emotions. Instead, her expression turned more pensive as she leant back in her chair. ‘Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’ve got the sense that you’ve been dealt a dirty hand.’

Darcy let out a bark of laughter. It sounded bitter to her ears. ‘That’s a poetic way of putting it, but yeah… How did you figure it out?’

‘Because I’ve been dealt a dirty hand too,’ Jane said simply, like she wasn’t turning Darcy’s world on its head through her confession. ‘And I was angry too, for a long time.’

‘What made the anger disappear?’ Darcy asked, mouth dry. Here was a woman, perhaps going through the same shitty situation that she was, offering a piece of advice Darcy had been desperately chasing after during the past four years. After all, Jane appeared to have her life all figured out; she was thriving without the interference of a soulmate. In fact, she seemed completely unbothered by the expectations a mark had placed on her. Darcy could not squander this opportunity. Even if Jane’s advice turned out to be utter nonsense, Darcy was ready to sell her markless right arm to reach a state of inner peace. 

‘The realization that my life didn’t need to stay in limbo while I waited to run into a lackluster person. My mark set in early, I was seventeen and about to pick which colleges I was going to apply for, and I spent the entire semester losing my mind over it. I almost lost my scholarship because I was so out of it.’ Darcy imagined Jane at seventeen, studious and shy, trying to hide her red-rimmed eyes from her friends and family as she tried to compromise between her plans for the future and the chain that was suddenly attached to her leg.

‘Luckily, my dad remembered to send in my application, and he sat me down for a talk straight after,’ Jane continued, smiling fondly at the memory. ‘He told me that a soulmark was not a binding contract, that I had plenty of choices still to make before a significant other would factor into my life. I could either allow my personal growth to stagnate because I was waiting on a person who I might not even like, or I could pursue my dreams and decide later if that person would fit into my life.’

‘Easy choice.’

Jane shrugged. ‘Not really. I still lost a lot of sleep before I managed to put that theory into practice. I hit my stride after I got dumped for the first time.’

That hit home. Darcy had known her fair share of partners that had run for the hills once they’d discovered she was marked. After the first three, she’d quickly learned that promises of forever rarely held in the face of perceived ‘destiny’. 

She nodded morosely. ‘Had one too many of those. Still makes me want to claw their eyes out, though.’

Sighing quietly, Jane rose from her chair and stumbled over to Darcy, who made room for her on her lounger, and wound an arm around the intern. ‘You’re plenty strong, Darcy, and I’m sure you’re going to land on your feet once you’ve got those science credits securely in your pocket.’ 

Darcy stifled a wet sniffle against Jane’s shoulder. ‘Do I sense a ‘but’?’

‘ _But,_ ’ Jane echoed, drawing back from the hug to look her in the eye. Her brow started to furrow like when she was considering a tricky equation. ‘I’d caution you against making anger your motivator. It tends to burn through people fast.’

Darcy’s first instinct was to push her away and tell her she had it all wrong, that she’d gladly let her anger carry her to where she needed to be, regardless if she left some fires in her wake. But then, her mind started to rehash all the evenings she’d fled to her dorm room, exhausted to the bone by constantly maintaining a shield of antagonism between her and the rest of the world. Maybe Jane’s wasn’t that far off the mark. 

Stepping away from that initial response, Darcy dropped her gaze and resolved that she’d at least try to hear the astrophysicist out. ‘What do you suggest I do, then?’ She couldn’t quite keep the sarcastic bite out of her voice, but that was par for the course. Passive-aggressiveness ran in the Lewis family’s blood. 

Throughout her inner-pondering Jane hadn’t moved an inch, keeping her arms firmly around Darcy’s shoulders. Once again, the intern got the impression that, despite her fragile appearance, Jane was actually pretty fearless. Yet, when she spoke, her voice was unwaveringly gentle.

‘I’d suggest you practice acceptance for starters. If you really don’t want to let your soulmate have any power over you, you should start treating your soulmark like any other part of your body. Let me show you.’

Curiosity took hold of Darcy as Jane dropped the half-hug and began to unwind the flimsy shawl she kept tucked into the front of her shirt to protect her neck from the chafing desert wind. She let it flutter to the ground without a second look and drew down the collar of her shirt. Shadows played across the skin she’d laid bare, but the fire provided just enough ambient light for Darcy to get a proper look. She sucked in a breath. 

Jane Foster’s soulmark was regal and _utterly alien_. It curled around the base of her neck like a golden necklace, the chain of words only briefly interrupted at the dip of her clavicle. It reminded Darcy vaguely of those ancient golden bands that Viking women had once worn around their necks. The blocky, foreign script of the words only reinforced that impression.

Leaning closer to read the words, Darcy was startled to find that she couldn’t read them at all. ‘What kind of language is that?’ 

‘I’ve got no fucking clue,’ Jane admitted wryly. ‘Erik said they’re definitely Nordic runes, but they don’t translate properly to any modern equivalent. If my soulmate were to show up right now and say my words, I wouldn’t even be able to tell it’s him.’

At the back of Darcy’s mind, the puzzle pieces began to fit together. ‘Acceptance means letting go to you, doesn’t it?’

A solemn nod.

‘Then what are you going to do if somebody suddenly shows up with your words on them?’

Jane laughed. ‘Then I’m going to politely point them to the door.’

Of course, when Jane’s soulmate turned out to be nothing less than an alien prince that made a habit out of falling from the sky and electrocuting giant robots with his fancy accessory, that promise altered ever so slightly. Who wouldn’t melt for ‘I think you might be the brightest star in the universe’?

Herself a bit starstruck by the sudden revelation of intelligent life in other parts of the universe, Darcy hadn’t blamed her boss for latching on to the blonde hunk that had been quite literally thrown at her feet, but she couldn’t call herself surprised when Jane’s response to Thor rapidly cooled from a boil to a simmer after the first rush of endorphins and adrenaline passed. Down to the marrow of her bones, Jane was a scientist: calm, collected, and crazy intelligent. Sure, Thor had those godly biceps, but how much were they worth in the grand scheme of things? Not much if Thor’s two-year-long absence was anything to go by.

Darcy had not so subtly thanked the heavens for taking Thor back to Asgard before he’d had the opportunity to smash more earthenware. Sanity could finally return to New Mexico, so that Darcy could finish her internship in peace and add those pesky science credits to her name. By the end of her first semester as Jane Foster’s intern, she’d set her heart on pursuing a doctorate in sociology. Her topic? A study in the psychological and social ramifications of living with an unconventional soulmark. 

Yeah, crazy what path acceptance could lead you to.


	2. A Stranger's Appeal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We move to London for the meeting of Darcy's life...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains an awesome artwork by Trashcanakin!  
> If you want to see the piece on its own and give them some well-deserved kudos or comments:  
> Follow the related work link at the end of the chapter for Ao3!  
> Visit @Zainniko on Tumblr!  
> Visit @Zainniko on DeviantArt!

Darcy received her wish: life did calm down for a hot minute. Jane’s research on the Einstein-Rosen bridge now bounced all over the world thanks to SHIELD funding, and Darcy dutifully followed. She’d grown comfortable in her role as Jane’s assistant and the job gave her enough time to work on her own dissertation. Via online surveys and forums, she tracked down individuals that had grown disillusioned with their soulmate due to the specifications of their mark. Her spreadsheets grew, her statistics expanded, but a working theory remained elusive. 

To be honest, Darcy had been growing pretty frustrated with her lack of progress right about the time when aliens showed up in New York and thrashed the place. Thor seemingly arrived hot on their heels, hammering them to smithereens. In their temporary Norwegian apartment, Darcy cheered at the live television broadcast while Jane hid her face behind her hands, only occasionally peeking through her fingers when the crackle of lightning came through the speakers. 

Jane had tried to play it cool since they had left New Mexico, distancing herself from anything that would remind her of Thor so that she could pretend she was absolutely fucking fine with her soulmate’s continued absence. Darcy knew better; she had spent months monitoring the consecutive episodes of feverish activity and somber contemplation that Jane had been cycling through. When she thought that nobody was looking, the astrophysicist absent-mindedly traced the golden runes around her neck. She was the picture-perfect model of a mortal pining after a god, though Darcy got the distinct impression that Thor was missing her just as badly going by the way he waved at every television camera like it was a long lost friend. Jane buried her face back in her hands and groaned in embarrassment every single time, but her smile was definitely brighter in the days after. And a week later, Darcy’s fine judgement of character was proven right when the alien prince turned up at their door with a box of Belgian chocolates and a nervous smile. Soulmate magic at work, take it all in!

Of course, Darcy shamelessly took advantage of her best friend being in a long-distance relationship with a Norse deity to write up reports about how both their soulmarks had influenced their lives. She’d gone as far as to bribe Thor with pop tarts for details. He’d revealed his mark without hesitation: the imprint of a star on his lower ribs. There were no words, but Thor assured her that this was fairly usual for Aesir soulmarks and that he’d hardly questioned it growing up. 

With such a small sample group, Darcy had to take him for his word, but she did try to get some information on Loki’s mark since he qualified as a related species. Thor stubbornly refused, but a friendly SHIELD agent snuck her security camera images from the helicarrier. Due to the grainy footage, the words of Loki’s mark were illegible. She eventually noted down the shape as that of an all-seeing eye. Her disappointment was short-lived, however, as Thor now also came equipped with a marvelous set of new friends. Although she did not officially meet any of the Avengers in the year after the Battle of New York, the hypothetical possibility of setting her eyes on their soulmarks had Darcy squealing in excitement. She should have known the Universe would ask a steep price in return.

The price arrived in the form of yet another alien invasion, this time right at their doorstep. In Darcy’s humble opinion London had enough holes in it to stand a fair chance of winning any premium cheese competition after the battle. Everywhere she looked, buildings were crumbling, car alarms blared and people ran screaming through the debris, uncaring of whom they left behind in the dust. Luckily, Darcy’s job was mostly confined to hammering in the equipment Jane and Eric needed to manipulate the portals and occasionally tasering a dark elf or two when they ventured too close to her and Ian. 

Speaking of Ian, he was cute and a nice distraction from boring paperwork, but boy did he have no survival instinct. Darcy felt that if she hadn’t been dragging him along constantly, he’d have been snapped up by one of the portals ages ago. She came out of the battle feeling ten times as confident about her own competence and severely disillusioned in Ian’s suitability as a romantic prospect. She’d bet her homicidal soulmates wouldn’t have blinked twice at kicking some aliens to the curb. Darcy told herself it was the efficiency and the ruthlessness she was longing for and not the people, even if her left arm kept violently itching during the battle.

Anyway, Thor and Jane wound up doing most of the ass-kicking and Darcy survived with nary a scratch. All things considered, they’d done a good job of protecting London from the worst of the destruction. As they stumbled back to Jane’s mother’s house, Darcy spotted some black SHIELD vans already making their way through the debris. Clean-up would soon be underway.

Clean-up came with the face of a dead man. Phil Coulson had been fearsome and inscrutable back when he was just a jack-booted thug, but something about being stabbed to death by a superpowered alien and emerging on the other side smelling like roses really changed how you looked at a man. For example, Darcy was now wholly convinced Phil Coulson was the reincarnation of some eldritch god. The impression was only made stronger by the fact he made Thor cry within thirty seconds of his arrival. Darcy never wanted to see the blonde giant blubber all over Jane’s shoulder again. It was an even sadder sight than orphaned puppies.

Fortunately, the man who’d accompanied Coulson from New York had Thor bouncing back to his usual boisterous self right quick, which was kind of odd, since he appeared to be a very unassuming character. Darcy hadn’t even noticed him lingering awkwardly in the doorway at first, caught up as she was by the second coming of the suited agent. It was Ian of all people who invited him further inside and offered him a drink. By the time Darcy started to take notice of the stranger in their midst, he’d been handed a cup of mint tea and had chosen Darcy’s usual office chair to hunker down in. This was frankly unacceptable, because she would not risk just anyone spilling hot water on the sensitive equipment and she’d kind of wanted to sit in it herself. As a matter of fact, she’d been walking over when he’d parked his sweet ass in her comfortable spot. 

_ Oh hell no.  _

Before she could have any second thoughts, Darcy strode over and planted herself right in front of him. For good measure, she took on her most imposing power stance and cleared her throat loudly. ‘You’re in my chair.’

Visibly startled, the stranger jerked back and blinked up at her. Behind his thick-rimmed glasses, the stranger's eyes were a very warm coffee brown. The artificial lighting in the room made little green flecks dancing around his irides. His face seemed familiar somehow, maybe the bridge of his nose or the curve of his jaw. Going by the grey in his hair, he must have a solid fifteen years on her at the least. The chance that they'd met in the past was laughably small.

‘I’m sorry, but there’s nowhere else to sit, miss,’ the stranger responded, all innocence. His back was to the computer monitors so that the light cast a halo around his curls. They were in such disarray that Darcy wondered if he’d even bothered to comb them in the morning. Her fingers itched to rectify the mess, but she had to hold firm.

‘What do you suggest I do then?’ Darcy challenged him, steeling herself for a confrontation that was probably only going to play out inside her own head. ‘I don’t see you offering that lap of yours up for real estate.’ 

_ Oops, that might have come out too strong _ , Darcy thought with a hint of panic that she quickly banished to the back of her mind. Stranger or not, she was prone to making ballsy moves, and it had the intended effect of making the stranger that was occupying her space very uncomfortable. She watched in satisfaction as first, his eyes grew comically large and second, he started choking on his tea at the implication. Unfortunately, the following coughing fit also sent the tea in his cup sloshing precariously. 

Confronted with the nightmare of potentially ruined equipment, Darcy darted forward to snatch the cup from his weak grip, simultaneously plopping herself down in his lap to keep him from accidentally spilling more. He grunted but thankfully shifted to balance her weight. With a sigh of relief Darcy placed the cup safely on the desk where it wasn't in direct danger of being upturned. Mission accomplished, and hey, she now had a pretty comfortable seat to boot.

She leaned back to look the stranger in the face, impish smile in place. 'Good teamwork, dude! I knew we'd come to a mutually beneficial agreement.'

He gaped at her, his expression frozen somewhere between surprise and fear. 'What the hell is wrong with you? Don't you have a sense of self-preservation?'

Now, that was just unfair. She might not always come up with the most risk free plans, but no one could deny she booked results.

'Hey, I'm not the one who barged into my house without introducing himself,' Darcy shot back, squaring her shoulders. 'So forgive me for getting defensive when you get all close and personal with my stuff.'

The stranger scowled, a muscle ticked dangerously in his jaw. 'I would have moved if you'd actually bothered to ask.' The green sparks returned to his eyes, brighter than before, and Darcy suddenly noticed how tensed up he'd become, like he was trying to hold back from bucking her off. The plastic of the chair arms creaked under his grip. Darcy started to entertain the thought that she should maybe put a few feet between them before things got out of hand.

Their quick argument had caused enough of a commotion for the rest of the victory party to finally take notice of them. Thor was the first to react, springing up from his chair in a rush of energy.

'Friend Banner!' He bellowed, storming over to them like a battering ram. Darcy braced herself as he threw his arms around the both of them, crushing her in the middle of the world's most awkward bro hug ever. She swore she could hear the stranger's ribs crack.

'Banner?' Jane echoed from behind the wall of muscle, voice filled with wonder. 'Dr. Bruce Banner, the physicist?'

'The one and only!' Thor confirmed, releasing them from his hold. His grin nearly split his face in two. 'What brings you to London, Banner? All the elves have already been sent back home in defeat. Our green friend would have been most helpful on the battlefield.'

_ Green friend? _ Those words rang a bell and Darcy scoured her memories for something that was green, associated with the Avengers, strong enough to earn Thor's respect and... _ potentially gigantesque. Oh no _ .

As the realization struck of exactly whom she'd been provoking, Darcy’s muscles spasmed into action as they tried to put as much distance between her and a very plausible threat, but Thor's broad frame was blocking her escape route. In addition, the Hulk - yikes, she'd never sit in a guy's lap again, invited or not - had one arm thrown loosely around her knees to keep her from tumbling during Thor's enthusiastic greeting. That was rather thoughtful for a man who regularly turned into a rage monster. Maybe the Hulk possessed a secret chivalrous streak.

Apparently, the man was also pretty attentive, because he immediately released her legs once she began to wriggle them frantically. She slipped from his lap the second her feet found solid ground, nearly stumbling as her jacket got caught behind the arm of the chair. He tugged it free with a strained smile and Darcy thought he looked almost sad, like her reaction had disappointed him in some mysterious manner. 

The expression was fleeting, however. When he addressed Thor, his smile was distinctly warmer. 'Setting the Other Guy loose in a crowded city should be a last resort. London has too many historical landmarks available for smashing, I'm afraid. I keep telling Tony we got lucky in New York.'

'Nonsense,' Thor dismissed his complaint with a shake of his head, finally stepping aside to let Darcy scurry past him. She hit him in the arm for good measure, but the pain didn’t seem to register amid his joy at seeing a friend. 'Hulk has more control than you think. Sure, he's a character, but aren't we all?'

_ No _ , Darcy thought uncharitably as she parked herself firmly beside Jane who was yet to leave her seat at the table, there was a gap the size of the Grand Canyon between eccentricities and temper tantrums that were capable of laying half a burough to waste. She herself fit snugly into the first category, the Hulk was the epitome of the second. She wondered where Dr. Bruce Banner landed on the scale. Innocuous man of science? Most unlikely. There had to be some dark shit tumbling around in that head of his for the Hulk to manifest so strongly. 

She turned to ask Jane's opinion, but stopped in her tracks. The astrophysicist was nearly vibrating on the spot, hands wringing excitedly as she listened to the exchange between her boyfriend and their unexpected guest. Displeased, Darcy realized she'd already lost her friend to the wonders of science. 

Her mounting annoyance was derailed by Dr. Banner letting out a bitter laugh. 'I wish I could have as much faith as you Thor,' he said, raking a hand through his curls. 'But I won't give him the chance to prove you wrong. My fighting days are behind me, anyway. SHIELD has enlisted my help in identifying unusual patterns of radiation.'

'Is that why you've joined us here, Dr. Banner?' That was Jane, inching forward to stand abreast with Thor as she spoke. 'The convergence has provided us with a wealth of data on radioactive anomalies, I'm sure. We haven't had the time to comb through the data yet, but there's bound to be some useful readings from the battle.'

Dr. Banner made a noise of surprise. 'That would be most helpful. I came here expecting to start from square one. That you had the presence of mind to organize such an intricate attack while recovering from possession is incredible to say the least. Colour me impressed.' 

While he talked, the caution seeped from his expression, leaving him more relaxed and looking younger just by the set of his shoulders. He was probably delighted at having found a fellow scientific soul, Darcy thought sourly, and why should she care anyway? If Jane wanted to risk being smashed into itsy bitsy chunks of flesh so bad, then Darcy wouldn't stop her. Frustrated, she turned her back on the scene and stomped off towards the kitchen. Of course, that's when Jane decided to turn the conversation back to her.

'Oh, that's very kind of you to say, Dr. Banner, but Darcy took care of most of the readings. She was responsible for installing all the necessary equipment. Without her assistance, we would have nothing to show for our adventure.'

Jane knew just how to flatter her too, Darcy thought as she tried to tamp down the sudden urge to flip the entire room off. 

‘I’ll upload the raw data to the SHIELD server tonight,’ she grumbled to Coulson in passing as she made for the coffee machine. At this point, getting high on caffeine sounded great. She wondered if chewing the coffee grounds could get you to that state faster. 

‘Why not give us the tour in person, Miss Lewis?’ Coulson suggested casually. Darcy whipped around to glare at him. ‘I’m sure studying the direct environment the readings were taken in would be very helpful in Dr. Banner’s research.’

‘It would,’ Bruce added, looking distinctly uncomfortable at where Coulson’s line of reasoning was leading them. Seems like they were in mutual agreement about not being in close quarters to each other. This suited Darcy’s agenda just fine.

She opened her mouth to tell Coulson she had better things to do than play his tour guide, when Thor interjected with his usual bravado. 

'Marvelous! I'd like to lend my services as well, Son of Coul. Perhaps Jane could teach me how to operate one of her capture machines so I can provide you with an aerial view.' He looked askance at his soulmate who acquiesced with a shrug. Damn traitors, the lot of them.

'Fine,' Darcy snarled, abandoning her doomed quest for coffee to snatch her coat and beanie off the rack. 'But I'm not carrying the umbrellas for all of you. When it starts pouring, you're on your own.'

  
  


In true London fashion, there was rain in the air when they started walking the same path Darcy and Ian had completed during the battle. The clouds hanging threateningly above their heads were mixed shades of grey and looked about as miserable as Darcy herself felt. Dr. Banner was still keeping his distance, utilizing the entire breadth of the pavement to avoid walking side by side with her like she was the security hazard. 

His distaste for her had become obvious the moment they’d left the rest of the group at Jane’s temporary lab-slash-apartment. The elevator of the building was old and cramped, and Dr. Banner had immediately retreated to the farthest corner, pressing his back up against the wall like he was hoping it would swallow him up. Taking a hint might not have been Darcy’s strong point, but she was wise enough to recognize the inherent danger of provoking the Hulk in an enclosed space so she let Coulson occupy the space between them. She’d rather not die hurtling towards the ground in a steel cage, thank you. 

Every other step, Darcy found herself debating if she was petty enough to give him a scare that might cause him to Hulk out and thrash some stuffy British cars. She’d feel vindicated after but no doubt the good citizens of London would not thank her. In addition, it wasn’t actually her goal to traumatize the physicist any further. The unsolicited lap-sitting had probably been a bad move on her part, but impulsiveness was very much her middle name and she’d rarely had this bad of a reaction. Honestly, she was at a bit of a loss on how to rectify it. She looked ahead for answers. 

Naturally, Agent Coulson pretended not to notice the uncomfortable atmosphere that existed between them. He marched in front, only pausing here and there to consult Darcy’s crudely drawn map of the area and send a signal to a nearby Shield base. To add insult to injury, Darcy just knew that somewhere in a secret underground lair there was an operative creating a far superior product that would completely sweep all her hard work under the rug. 

At least Coulson wasn’t rubbing the inadequacy of the materials in her face, he was far too professional. Darcy often found herself wishing she possessed the same amount of composure as the senior agent. It would certainly help her cope with situations where her patience ran thin. Like now, for example, when the silence grated on her nerves and her tongue burned with the need to start a conversation about anything, preferably something that could keep her entertained. 

She glanced sideways at Dr. Banner again. He didn’t seem to mind the silence either way. His gaze was fixed upon some indefinable point in the distance, his thoughts a million miles away in a galaxy of calculations and theorems. A mental refuge that Darcy was firmly shut outside off. 

Discontented, her mind wandered as she considered a way in which she might break him out of it. Nearly startling him into a transformation hadn’t been the greatest start to their acquaintanceship, but Darcy reckoned she could put it to rights still. Anything would be better than wallowing in the current atmosphere of distrust and sullen silence. Thinking about it, she might have just the topic to get him out of that shell…

‘So, you must have been working on an important project before this madness forced you to come to London,’ she began faux-casually, stuffing her hands in her pockets like she was settling in for a long, languid walk. She was hoping he fit into the category of scientist that got ungodly excited while discussing their own work. ‘I know I was. I’ve got a ton of spreadsheets calling my name back at the apartment.’

From her side of the pavement, Darcy could clearly see the set of his shoulders stiffen in surprise. Obviously, he hadn’t expected her to try for a conversation after his comprehensive show of evasion tactics. He cast a suspicious glance her way.

‘Most of my projects fall under some sort of non-disclosure agreement,’ he offered with a vaguely irritated twitch of his mouth. ‘I’m afraid I can’t tell you much more than that I frequently work in Tony Stark’s lab.’ He didn’t sound particularly sorry about not being able to tell her.

Darcy fought hard to keep her frown contained. ‘No matter, I’ve got plenty to tell about my research. Though I don’t suspect it will hold much of your interest, it’s not that hard science you and Janey are so hung up on. I’m deep into the soft stuff, you know?’

‘I do not,’ Dr. Banner admitted, he drifted closer to minimize the risk of being overheard. ‘As a consultant, I’m not actually privy to Shield’s files on other kinds of personnel. This is the first I’ve heard about them funding research outside the sciences.’

‘Oh, I don’t take their money,’ Darcy sniffed derisively. The idea alone was insulting. No jack-booted thugs would be involved in her research unless they came with valuable data. ‘They’re still keeping my iPod hostage under the guise of it being important evidence of Jane’s activities in New Mexico. Until it’s delivered safely back into my hands, I consider us at war with one another.’

Out of the blue, Dr. Banner snickered. The sound caused Darcy to spin on her heel and stare at him, a little weirded out by his laughter. He quickly stifled the sound in his hand, but the damage had been done. 

‘So there is some life underneath that lab coat after all!’ She commented without thinking. Dr. Banner seemed to take it in stride. Perhaps he was trying to work her out in his own way. 

‘I’m not wearing a lab coat,’ he reminded her gently, glancing down at his dark purple trousers. 

‘It’s a figure of speech,’ Darcy hummed, daring to walk just a tad closer to him. His eyes briefly flicked down to consider the shrinking distance, but to her satisfaction he did not recoil. 

‘Shall I tell you about my research, then?’

He inclined his head in approval, but could not quite meet her gaze again. Frankly, Darcy thought he looked adorable all shy and windblown. ‘Please, if you don’t mind.’

Up ahead, Coulson halted at the edge of the Royal Naval College campus, fiddling aggressively with the dials of his handheld scanner. The ravaged lawn spread out before him like a swath of ugly scarring. Various Shield agents were in the process of clearing up the rubble and keeping the water from flooding any further onto the grounds. 

‘Right,’ Darcy took a deep breath. Where to start? ‘Just before Thor came crashing down to earth, I made the decision to pursue my own research separately from my degree in political science.’

Dr. Banner’s brows furrowed as he listened attentively. ‘You still have the intern position with Jane, right? What drove you to do both at the same time?’ 

Stopping a few metres from where Coulson was now holding an animated discussion with a few of the other agents, Darcy shrugged. ‘Frankly, it was easier not to bother with the academic part of it. Applying for a grant wouldn’t have garnered much of a result anyway. My research started out as something highly personal and I haven’t received much support from anyone besides Jane. She understands when I want to take some time off to compile my own data.’

‘She seems like the kind of woman who delights in those around her succeeding,’ Dr. Banner agreed. ‘Thor can’t shut up about how she’s the one responsible for him cleaning up his act. That’s what soulmates are for, I guess.’

Of course the burly god had been incapable of keeping that detail to himself, Darcy thought fondly. He might be an ancient alien prince, but he had the soul of an overexcited puppy. It was reassuring to hear he was just as into Jane during his long absence as he was in New Mexico. 

‘I’m glad to hear it. By far, Thor’s the soulmate that has scored the highest on my intensity of attachment scale. If he were to suddenly drop the ball, it would skew all my statistics.’

A wary look stole over Dr. Banner’s face. ‘Is that what you’re conducting research in, soulmates?’

Taken aback by his sudden shift in mood, Darcy simply nodded. ‘Unconventional soulmarks to be specific, but close enough.’

‘Ah,’ he breathed, eyes directed somewhere over her left shoulder. ‘Not my cup of tea, I’m afraid.’ 

The uncomfortable atmosphere was creeping back into their conversation, and Darcy got the sense that she was dangerously close to losing whatever ground she’d gained with him. Still, she could not keep her tongue from pushing him just a little further. 

‘I’m happy with any data. My baseline is made up entirely out of more run-of-the-mill soulmarks, you could submit yours if you want.’

That was the wrong thing to say, she realized belatedly. The anxious physicist immediately drew away from her with a grimace of discomfort. 

‘I could not--’ He began, almost stuttering the words. Darcy suddenly felt the immense desire to turn back the clock and hit her past self over the head before the words could escape her lips. 

Before she could apologize, however, another voice entered their conversation. Coulson had apparently finished up his business with the clean-up crew and was watching them expectantly. 

‘As the Avengers official liaison, I am legally required to inform you that any and all personal information belonging to team members is to be kept strictly private,’ he recited clearly as if he had the manual open in front of him. ‘Personnel that has no ties to the team or the particular Avengers’ family must undergo a vetting process first. You do not possess such clearance as of yet, Miss Lewis.’

Darcy gaped at him. ‘Overkill much?’

‘The protection of the team is of national importance,’ he continued, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. ‘So I must ask you to not needle Dr. Banner unnecessarily for information he’s not free to give.’

‘Thank you, Phil,’ Dr. Banner said quietly, glancing furtively at her. He seemed afraid that she would not heed Coulson’s warning and jump him to get her answers. Which was absurd, aside from the occasional taser discharge and assertive lap-sitting Darcy wasn’t all that big on violence. Words were her strength. She turned them on Coulson now.

‘And just how am I supposed to collect any data on soulmarks if you keep blocking me from interviewing the people who are the most likely to have interesting ones?’ She asked sharply, squaring her shoulders to squeeze every bit of height out of her frame. Coulson gave no indication that he found the display at all impressive, but he did hand her the handheld device that he’d been using to take readings.

‘The solution to your problem is in your hands, Miss Lewis,’ he told her in good humour. ‘Please share the documents on that pad with Dr. Foster. We’d be more than happy to welcome you both to New York and the Avengers Initiative.’

‘Now,’ he turned to Banner, veneer of professionalism back in place. ‘We have a plane to catch in a few hours. It would be best you collect your ground samples here, doctor. We’re not going to find a better spot.’

The mention of work seemed to help Dr. Banner relax significantly. He gave Coulson a determined nod. ‘I’ll get right on it.’ He made to walk away, but hesitated at the last second, shooting Darcy an unreadable look. 

Finally, he said simply: ‘Good luck, Darcy.’

Baffled by his use of her first name, Darcy smiled weakly. ’Have a good flight, Dr. Banner.’

‘Bruce,’ he corrected her, smiling almost wistfully in return. ‘You can call me Bruce.’ Then, he was off, striding away confidently over the cratered lawn. The change was remarkable and Darcy watched him go in wonder. 

After a long minute, Coulson coughed politely to get her attention. ‘That’s a goodbye from me as well, Miss Lewis. Please read through the documents carefully. There will be much of interest to you.’

Darcy shook her head to clear it of the image of the scientist. ‘Sure, dude. I’ll take a look when I get back. Don’t crash in the Atlantic before you can release my iPod.’

‘I’ll be sure to mention it to the Director at the next briefing,’ Coulson said dryly before he stepped away too, leaving Darcy alone with her thoughts. Today was definitely up there on her list of the strangest days ever. The only thing that could make it weirder now was for Loki to suddenly appear at dinner and make Thor burst into tears again. That would be a sight.

Feeling somewhat more steady but not yet ready to go home, she unlocked the pad Coulson had given her and skimmed through the document he’d left open. It appeared to be some kind of contract, mostly meant for Jane’s eyes, but at the bottom where their signatures would have to be paced there was an extra attachment. An image file.

Curious, Darcy clicked on it. A handwritten note flashed on screen in perfect cursive writing.

_ A gesture of goodwill _ , it read,  _ from a jack-booted thug _ .

Followed underneath by two pictures, taken with a cellphone camera. The first one contained part of a man’s bare chest, the stretch of skin between the collarbone and shoulder was faintly scarred but the words that laid overtop were clear.  _ I’m so glad my arrow wasn’t pointing at your face.  _

A lump formed in Darcy’s throat. It couldn’t be… She quickly scrolled further down to the second one. Another man, his pelvic bone jutting out sharply like he hadn’t been eating properly for a while.  _ Never too late to kiss it better. _

Laughing in disbelief, Darcy clutched the pad and the valuable data it contained to her chest. Who needed Bruce Banner when you had access to the soulmark of the world’s most inscrutable man? Phil Coulson and his soulmate were going to be treated to her grandma’s special cake recipe once she set foot in New York.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this chapter, please consider leaving some kudos or a comment.  
> See you tomorrow (in New York)!


	3. Tower of Madness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers are upon us...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Indian food... This chapter shows that a lot.
> 
> [Btw, if anyone wants to make a guess as to who Loki's soulmate is (from the last chapter). I'd love to hear it.]

True to her word, Darcy packed away a generous serving of carrot cake in her hand luggage when she stepped onto a Shield-chartered flight to New York. The Shield agent who handled their bags at the airport had taken one look at the contents of hers and let out a deep sigh but he'd managed to get the confection safely through customs. Darcy bought him the most expensive frappuccino in the airport’s Starbucks as a thank you. The flight itself was over in a flash, courtesy of Tony Stark’s newest advancement in arc technology. And how awesome was it that they were going to science in the private labs of a certified billionaire, inventor, and superhero? No rent, no living costs, no annoyingly long commute, what more could a girl want? 

Certainly, Stark welcomed them in style, sending his personal chauffeur to pick them up at the airport. By the time their new home base was in sight, Darcy was half-convinced to just give the billionaire an automatic pass on her douchebag test. But that would be going too easy on him and consequently, the Avengers. The part of her job that Darcy took the most seriously was ensuring Jane had a safe environment to science to her heart’s content. If the Avengers weren’t up to scruff, they wouldn’t be setting one foot inside Jane’s labspace, no matter how many cool gadgets or fistfuls of money they threw at the door, Darcy would make sure of it.

Fortunately, the Avengers seemed determined to prove their good character from the get-go by organizing a cosy team-dinner. Stark’s chauffeur directed them straight to the commonfloor where the team had gathered for the introductory feast. To be honest, Darcy had expected them to have ordered in a ton of take-out, but when the elevator doors opened, her nostrils were assaulted by the mixed smell of spices.

Saliva instantly flooded her mouth and she moaned out loud. ‘Fuck, I’m going to kiss whoever came up with the idea of ordering Indian.’

A collective laugh rose up from the Avengers seated at the table, but it was Stark himself who spoke up first, ‘Nice to meet you too, Lewis! If you want to add the deed to the word, you can turn your tender attention to our resident cook.’ He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder at a figure hunched over the stove, stirring a big pot of undoubtedly delicious curry. Even from a distance Darcy could see the man’s shoulders stiffening as if bracing himself for some kind of attack. The poor guy mustn't get around much, but hey, Darcy could keep her hands at home. She’d learned to curb her impulsiveness somewhat since the Banner incident. 

She shook the billionaire’s hand firmly. ‘Nah, I prefer to show my appreciation by devouring half of the food by myself. I need to keep some flesh on these bones with the way Janey has me running errands all the time.’

‘Lady Jane is an exacting taskmaster,’ Thor agreed heartily, drawing said scientist close and kissing her soundly on the mouth. ‘Greetings, my Star.’

A blonde, leanly-built man, who she’d later learn was called Clint, uttered a noise of disgust. ‘Eww. Keep your PDA confined to your personal quarters, Thor. You’re ruining my appetite.’ That was sufficient for Darcy to know they’d make great friends. 

She hopped onto a chair next to the mouthy superhero - Hawkeye, something? - and said: ‘Damn straight. I’ve been forced to look at their smooching for far too long. Let’s stuff something else into their mouths before tongues get involved, yes?’

‘I’m starving,’ agreed a blond adonis that could only be Captain America, smiling shyly. They shook hands over the table in greeting. He looked like a stand-up guy, Darcy thought, though a little too sad around the eyes for her taste. What could be troubling the national icon? Increased taxes, the wobbly state of their governmental system, the ever-looming threat of nuclear war? The possibilities were endless. 

Barely keeping herself from launching into a discussion that would have made all her political science professors look green around the gills, Darcy popped a piece of freshly baked naan in her mouth ‘So what’s on the menu specifically?’

Tony hoisted himself into the high chair across from her. ‘Well, if Brucie knows what’s good for him,’ - Darcy froze, second piece of naan dropping to the tabletop as her eyes flicked to the man at the stove. How hadn’t she recognized that style of shirt? - ‘He’ll have prepared two dishes. One for the barbaric meat lovers, and one for the blessed vegetarians. I recommend you make a choice now, so later bloodshed can be avoided.’

Dazed by the realization that the guy she’d spent two very uncomfortable and cryptic hours with was going to serve her a meal, Darcy nodded slowly. ‘Veg sounds good.’

Tony grinned lazily. ‘A woman after mine and Brucie’s heart.’ He nudged Steve in the side with his elbow. ‘See, eating only vegetables is totally in right now. Maybe Darcy can help you find a recipe or two to make your dishes taste better. You need to hang out more with people your own age.’

‘I could be her grandfather,’ Steve replied dryly. ‘And I’m pretty sure that Miss Lewis won’t appreciate you forcing me on her.’

That made Darcy smile. It was good to hear that Captain America hadn’t brought sexism along from the forties. And hey, she had to admit that spending time with a superhero closer to her own age (physically, at least) wouldn’t be a hardship. Aside from appearing to be a pretty decent dude, Steve wasn’t exactly hard on the eyes either. She’d get a crazy amount of likes and followers if she posted about him on Instagram. Perhaps her association with a cultural icon that was dear to conservative hearts would encourage more people to participate in her research. 

‘Thanks, Captain,’ she said with a wink. ‘Though Tony has a point. I do have a degree that’s uniquely suited for filling in the informational gap you have. My modern sensibilities will be rubbing off on you in no time.’

There came a loud clang from the direction of the stove, causing everyone at the table to jump in their seats. Darcy’s gaze whipped from Steve’s adorably flushing cheeks to the stove where Bruce was cursing up a storm over a pot that had tipped over and was now spilling boiling water over the countertop. He was trying to soak up most of the water with a rag, but Darcy knew he was fighting a losing battle on his own. 

Swiftly, she sprung up from her own chair and rushed over to assist him, grabbing a couple of fresh towels from the rack along the way. 

‘Here, let me help,’ she offered as she rolled one towel up into a sausage-shape and put it down between the spreading spill and the electronics, creating a absorbent barrier. 

Bruce stiffened as she plopped down beside him, their shoulders brushing. 

‘Thanks,’ he mumbled, shooting her a sideways glance filled with apprehension. His irises glowed a bright green from stress. It was disheartening to discover that, even among his trusted team members, Bruce Banner didn’t seem at ease in his own skin. Like he was afraid that just bumping into her would damage her irreversibly. That wouldn’t do.

Daringly, Darcy moved in closer, so their shoulders pressed together. She marvelled at how hot to the touch his skin felt even through his shirt. Must be a side-effect from the Hulk, she reckoned. The heat was kind of nice. She’d die to get a good lower back massage from somebody whose hands naturally radiated that amount of warmth. She dropped the second towel onto the countertop and began to soak up the leftover water. Occasionally, their hands brushed, but Darcy was gratified to see that the good doctor didn’t flinch from her touch as they worked to reverse the damage together. 

Behind them, the room had fallen quiet, and Darcy could feel five pairs of curious eyes burn holes into her back. Which was fine, because she’d expected an isolated and secretive group like the Avengers to closely monitor every move a newcomer made. Normally, she’d be able to handle a little scrutiny if it meant she could settle at the Tower in comfort for the foreseeable future. At the moment, however, she found herself at odds with that initial attitude. Her hackles rose up further every second the other Avengers watched her interact with Bruce, who was evidently as weary of the extra attention as she was. Where his hand was resting on the countertop, a noticeable green hue was creeping up his skin from the tips of his fingers.

Alarmed by the rapid discoloration, Darcy took a step back under the guise of removing the soaked towel and wringing it out in the sink. ‘Those look ready to go on the table,’ she said, indicating the remaining pots and pans on the stove with a toss of her head. 

‘Right,’ Bruce cleared his throat, expression tight. ‘I’ll bring them to the table if you can grab some placemats. They should be in the cupboard on the far left.’

As she followed his directions and the other Avengers started to realize that the show was over, the soft murmur of conversation began to fill the kitchen area again. Tony and Steve resumed their discussion about the virtues of modern cuisine, Thor drew Jane into the chair between himself and Tony, while Clint was busily typing away on a black device that only vaguely resembled a mobile phone. There was no indication that they’d ever been interested in her or Bruce. The shift was somewhat unsettling and Darcy took special care to keep a tab on what was going on at the table as she puttered around, collecting mats and cutlery from the drawers. 

Amid the bustle, Darcy noticed a lithe figure stroll up to the table from the corner of her eye: a woman, red-haired and of a height with Darcy herself. So that was the elusive Black Widow, the intern thought, delighted at catching her first glimpse of the team’s only female member. The footage of the Battle of New York hadn’t done her justice. Even in the mundane setting of the kitchen, she exuded a cool confidence. There was no doubt in Darcy’s mind that the operative would be ready to tackle any threat in a heartbeat. With no threat in sight, however, the Widow appeared utterly relaxed as she swung herself into the last unclaimed seat on the other side of Clint.

‘Hello, boys,’ she greeted softly, tone almost sultry. Bruce didn’t look up from the stove, absorbed in his steaming pots. ‘And Dr. Foster, of course. Glad to have you here finally.’ From where Darcy was standing, she couldn’t see the Widow’s expression, but she imagined her smile was all sharp teeth. Darcy couldn’t suppress a shiver, making the cutlery she was holding jingle obnoxiously. Swift like a viper about to strike, the Widow’s head whipped over and Darcy found herself pinned in place by a calculating stare. 

‘And another girl to join the ranks,’ she continued, voice perfectly level, so that Darcy found it impossible to tell what the woman thought about her. ‘If we count Pepper, we’re finally evenly matched in numbers with the boys.’

‘Not counting Pepper should be a crime,’ Tony chimed in, eyes flicking between the two of them. ‘She counts for two. And if your pal Agent Agent is to be believed, Darcy is a good hand at keeping things up and running in difficult situations. I’m thinking of putting her in charge of the private labs.’

While Tony spoke, Darcy cautiously moved over to the table and dropped the cutlery on its surface before extending a hand towards the other woman. ‘Darcy Lewis, former intern, taser of errant gods. Pleased to meet you.’

The Widow’s lips curved upwards as she returned the gesture. ‘Natasha Romanoff, Shield operative and Avenger. I’m looking forward to seeing how you’re going to handle Tony and Bruce’s science binges.’

Darcy almost breathed a sigh of relief. Unruly scientist behaviour was a familiar topic. ‘They can’t be any worse than Jane’s. She once survived four days on nothing but pop tarts while I was away at a convention.’

The Widow - Natasha - lifted an eyebrow in interest and motioned Darcy to take her seat at the other side of Clint. ‘You’re involved in astrophysics?’

‘Oh no, stars aren’t my thing.’ Darcy began to pass sets of cutlery to the other occupants of the table. ‘I’ve got a degree in political science.’

‘Darcy’s looking to get a doctorate,’ Jane added helpfully, a proud look in her eye as she shared a long look with her assistant. ‘In sociology, to be specific.’

The clatter of a large pot announced Bruce’s approach to the table. Darcy quickly slid a mat in place for him to put it down. He gave her a grateful nod as he settled down on the last empty chair beside her. His shirt smelled faintly of spice, she noted absently.

‘I remember you talking about your research back in London,’ he said, joining into the conversation fluidly. He must have been listening in after all. ‘Have you received a grant yet?’

Darcy pulled a face, remembering the last batch of rejection letters she had hurriedly shoved into a moving box before leaving for the airport. ’Afraid not. Soulmates continue to not be a hot academic topic. Apparently, determining if pheromones are actually a thing or not is much more important to ensure people’s personal happiness.’

‘Shame,’ Bruce said simply, not quite meeting her eyes, making it difficult to tell if he was sincerely feeling sorry for her or secretly relieved that she hadn’t made any headway in a branch of research that plainly made him uncomfortable. 

Irritation sparked, Darcy had to bite her tongue to keep from asking him what his fucking deal was. The way he continuously ran hot and cold in her presence was puzzling in the worst way. Frankly, she had little patience for people who were dishonest out of fear of confrontation. So what if conflict was likely to turn him into a green rage monster? At least, the Hulk wouldn’t be lying to her face, if he was capable of speech at all. Darcy vowed to herself that she’d get Bruce Banner’s reluctant lips to spill the truth soon enough. Tony Stark’s scheming willing, she’d have opportunities aplenty. 

That cheered her up sufficiently that she shot him a terse smile as he passed her a full plate of vegetarian korma. ‘You know what they say, if you don’t succeed at first, try again. I’ll wear a university board down eventually.’

The corner of Bruce’s eye twitched. ‘I don’t doubt it.’ 

Darcy didn’t want to deign that comment with a reply, so she stuffed her mouth full of korma potato instead. The rich curry flavour exploded on her tongue and she let out a moan.  _ Damn that was good Indian. Had to be an authentic recipe. _

Bruce shifted awkwardly in his seat like he was considering getting far away from her, and when she snuck a swift glance at him from under her lashes, there was a definite blush to his cheeks. Odd. She’d reckoned that a man who regularly ran around half-naked for the good of the world wouldn’t be such a prude - or such a repressed jerk, for that matter. Another piece of the complicated puzzle that was Dr. Bruce Banner. 

Meanwhile, the other members of the team seemed to take little notice of the rather lacklustre interaction between her and Bruce as they started to load up their plates with good cheer. Maybe they had managed to convince themselves that there was only a small chance that Darcy would provoke a hulk-out in the middle of dinner. Certainly, Natasha seemed to have grown bored of her little interrogation and was now giving her full attention to the food. Clint and her had chosen to go fifty-fifty on the vegetarian and meat option, sharing two plates between the two of them. Across from her, Tony and Steve were already enthusiastically tucking in, while Thor and Jane ate with slightly more restraint, their heads held close together as they talked. That was nothing compared to Bruce, who appeared to be participating in the world championship for slowest eater. Darcy was sure that if she were to hold her breath in the time between his bites, she’d turn blue in the face from lack of oxygen. Repressed and scarily self-controlled. Boy, the list just kept on growing.

Her fixation on Bruce Banner was rapidly turning a fun welcome dinner into a real downer, she realized. And just how pathetic was that? She’d never let any person ruin a perfectly fine evening since she’d kicked an asshole out of her dorm room back in her sophomore year. That night, she’d cried over a bottle of cheap drugstore wine, but there was no way she was going to do the same on her first night at the Tower. Bruce Banner might be an infuriating mystery, but she was not going to let that impede her enjoyment. She took a big bite of korma and hummed with satisfaction.

Tony glanced up from his own plate, amused. ‘Glad the catering is meeting your standards, Lewis. Savour it, because you’re going to have to survive on takeaway and passable coffee down in the labs.’

‘I don’t think so, Stark,’ she snarked back, pointing in his direction with a fork. ‘When I’m in charge, there will be balanced meal plans, plenty of breaks and perfectly-brewed drinks. I’ve got a kitchen princess streak that’s a mile long and I’m not afraid to weaponize it.’

The billionaire held up his hands in surrender. ‘I quake before your might. But does that mean I’ll have to install a kitchenette into your office, because that’s going to be a pain to squeeze in-between the particle accelerator and the giant bunny.’

‘Giant bunny?’

‘Don’t ask. It’s a sore subject.’

At the other end of the table, Natasha snorted loudly. ‘For you or for Pepper? She’s a saint for not having burned that monstrosity on the spot.’

‘As her one, true soulmate, I can vouch for Pepper’s angelic status,’ Tony said ceremoniously, laying one hand across his heart like he was gearing up to sing the national anthem; the image of perfect innocence. ‘Unfortunately, the Universe bound her to a devil. Which reminds me…’ 

He turned back to Darcy, a twinkle in his eye, and the younger woman felt a legitimate stab of fear at what crazy plan was unfolding inside his head. She suddenly remembered all those tabloids that had painted Tony Stark as a mad genius set on a hedonistic path to self-destruction. On the other hand, a woman as pragmatic and reasonable as Pepper Potts apparently saw enough good in him to stick around through all his less than heroic moments. There had to be some middle ground that birthed successes like the Arc reactor technology and the Iron Man-armour.

Her apprehension seemed to amuse Tony greatly, because he began to grin crookedly. ‘Since you’re technically becoming a Stark Industries employee by working in my private labs, Pepper and I have decided we’re going to grant you some company benefits. The SI company policy just so happens to include full support for any research projects that won’t lead to end-of-the-world shenanigans.’ 

Darcy felt her mouth fall open in disbelief. Her mind started to race through the possibilities: money, college recommendation letters, an actual office to meet people at. ‘Wait! Wait! Does that fucking mean what I think it does?’

‘Congratulations, Lewis. You are the proud recipient of a Stark Industries Bright Minds Grant, courtesy of our gentle overlady.’ Tony spread his arms wide, nearly poking Steve in the eye with his fork. The soldier respectfully pressed his hand down to rest on the table and continued eating. The billionaire didn’t seem to mind, simply flipping his hand over and angling it up slightly so the light threw the dark cursive decorating the heel of his palm into contrast.

‘My personal contribution,’ he added unnecessarily as Darcy snatched his hand up from the table, half-dragging him out of his chair in her enthusiasm. 

'Thank you! This is going to help me so much,' she babbled excitedly. 'People are going to die to be a part of a research project endorsed by Tony Stark.' Fresh adrenaline coursed through her veins as she bent over to read the words.

_ Don't ever do that to me again! _ was written across his skin in immaculate cursive. The letters were precise and controlled, much like the woman whose soul they had originated from. 

'Am I getting the story behind it too?' Darcy asked, looking up at Tony, who was smiling indulgently. The rest of the table appeared to have abandoned their dinner plates in order to get a peek at the soulmark display. All except for Bruce and Steve. The former had ducked his head so low that his floppy hair almost touched the curry sauce he was scooping up with a piece of naan, doing his damnedest to ignore her delight. Big surprise there. In comparison, Steve seemed all too aware of what was taking place in front of him. He sat back in his chair, pale and withdrawn, almost like he was in shock.

'W-what are you doing?' He stammered eventually as Tony opened his mouth to regale them with the story, an angry flush colouring his cheeks. 'You can't just parade your soulmarks around like that. They're private.' Silence fell over the group as everyone stared at him in startled wonder.

Oh boy, Darcy thought as she released Tony's hand after snapping a quick picture with her phone for documentation purposes. The hot national icon did have a conservative side, and it had repressed patriarchal society written all over it in big red letters. Of course she'd been aware that soulmarks tended to be a taboo subject for older generations thanks to a couple of run-ins with evangelist grannies, but those were strangers, not hip superheroes. She wondered why the subject had caused such a direct reaction from the generally chill soldier. Another person to poke and prod at for a story. 

Surprisingly, it was Clint who recovered first. 'Hate to break it to you, Cap,' he said, casually leaning back in his chair. 'But the taboo surrounding soulmarks went under the second the internet was invented.'

'Clint's right,' Natasha joined in, casting a wary look in Steve's direction. 'Social media has pretty much decimated privacy. These days, if you haven't seen a dozen soulmarks, you're the exception to the rule.'

Their shared explanation seemed to do little to comfort the nonagenarian. Steve squared his shoulders and stared stubbornly down at his half-eaten plate. 'Could we maybe just not talk about it while we're eating dinner?' 

Bruce quietly nodded in agreement, but the other Avengers seemed less inclined to do the same. Tony in particular was looking at Steve with a special brand of incredulity.

Darcy had to admit she was beginning to somewhat pity him, and she didn't exactly want to get on his bad side so soon, so she relented with a sigh. 'We'll do that, Steve. Though I kind of want to know if anybody else wants to follow Tony's example, because then I need to go grab my good camera.' 

Her question was only really directed towards the two spies sitting next to her. They exchanged a long stare, communicating silently, before Natasha slowly shook her head. 'Not at the moment.'

Clint shrugged. 'I think I already had my contribution delivered, unless Phil chickened out at the last minute, but that's not like him.'

'Coulson's your soulmate?' The surprises just kept piling up, didn't they? When she stopped to think about it though, the two of them did kind of make sense as a couple. Hadn't they been stationed together in New Mexico? Thor had mentioned a sniper keeping tabs on him while he was being interrogated, although he'd neglected to tell what kind of sniper. Otherwise Darcy might have made the connection much sooner.

'Wow,' she breathed as Clint nodded proudly. 'What do you reckon is the chance I can brand this research as an Avengers fan project? Because that's really going to bring the masses in.'

Tony burst out a laugh. 'Talk to legal and we'll figure something out.'

'She's going to hold you to that,' Jane predicted, winking at Darcy from across the table. The newly-minted lab overseer suddenly got the sense that the woman had been more than a little involved in netting Stark Industries' support. Which meant she'd have to bake yet another 'thank you' cake. What a bother.

Smiling around a delicious bite of food, Darcy thanked her lucky stars for bringing her on the right path. Even if they'd brought her to a place filled with the best kind of madness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this fic, please consider leaving a comment or kudos.
> 
> See you tomorrow in the lab!


	4. Degrees of Separation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Labs can be surprisingly dangerous places.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another day, another chapter! Thank you for all the positive responses I've got so far. Who knew Electric Green was such a loved rare pair?

Tony Stark’s ‘private’ labs were a bit more extensive than any experience working with Jane had prepared Darcy for. They encompassed an entire floor within the Tower and looked so much like a collage of every single science fiction film she’d ever seen that she had to blink a few times to convince herself that she hadn’t just stepped onto a film set. 

Behind her, Tony snickered at her dumbstruck expression as he pushed her further inside. ‘Welcome to the mothership, Lewis. Say hi to the new overlady, Jarvis!’

A heavy sigh came out of nowhere, causing Darcy to whip her head around to find the origins of the sound. ‘Another one, sir?’

‘Don’t make it sound like I collect people for fun, Jarv,’ Tony said, faux-outraged. The fact that he didn’t seem to find it strange that a voice could be heard from the walls probably meant the lab wasn’t haunted. Which was good, because Darcy would be out there like one of Thor’s lightning bolts otherwise. If she’d learned anything from those same science fiction films, it was that ghosts or aliens were not conducive to scientific research.

‘How can I, Sir?’ The disembodied voice snarked right back, and Darcy was finally able to pinpoint its origins to a half-concealed speaker. ‘It’s not like you literally created a few people out of code and metal.’

‘You made a robot?’ Darcy asked, slightly skeptical. She remembered the robot that Loki had sent to flatten the New Mexico town all too well. If Thor hadn’t received some divine inspiration in the nick of time and gone all super saiyan, Jane, Erik and herself would no doubt have been turned into smoldering patches of ash. A repeat performance was very low on her bucket list.

Tony opened his mouth to respond, but the voice quickly interjected: ‘Allow me to introduce myself, Miss Lewis, I am Jarvis, Mr. Stark’s personal artificial intelligence.’

‘And my precious baby,’ Tony added, blinking away an imaginary tear. For the second time in twenty-four hours, Darcy found herself severely doubting his mental stability. 

‘So, he’s like Skynet?’ Maybe she  _ had  _ walked onto a film set, after all.

The voice - no, Jarvis - huffed and for a second he sounded so genuinely human that she had pinch herself. ‘I believe myself to be much more considerate than Skynet. Fulfilling Mr. Stark’s needs is one of my primary objectives, so I wouldn’t want any human under my care to experience discomfort.’

Her eyebrows felt like they were trying to assimilate with her hairline. ‘That’s  _ terrifying _ .’

‘I shall endeavour not to scare you any further,’ Jarvis answered politely. ‘I will simply record your biometrics for access to the labs and be on my way.’ A beam of blue light cascaded downward from the ceiling and passed over Darcy two to three times. She expected to feel the light drag across her skin as it basically took an imprint of her but there wasn’t even a whisper of air. 

Tony stepped forward and clapped her on the back the moment the blue light dissipated. ‘It’s official. Jarvis will set you up in the system with automatic access to all Avengers-associated floors with the exception of private quarters which I promise is entirely to protect your own innocent eyes.’ He winked exaggeratedly, eliciting a nervous laugh from Darcy.

Something in his eyes softened, making him seem almost fatherly. ‘Jarvis is wired into the entirety of the Tower and most Stark Industries facilities. You’ll get used to him soon enough,’ he comforted her with a squeeze of her shoulder. ‘It probably sounds scary as fuck to you right now, but he’ll look after you until the end.’

Darcy felt some of her nerves settle as she unpacked his words. It was logical to presume that an artificial intelligence would both be able to outsmart and outlive them all, and Tony appeared to be very at peace with that idea. She let out a slow breath as the magnitude of the world she’d entered into finally registered. She was going to need to put a lot of faith in the people around her, Darcy realized, especially as a baseline human amid a troupe of enhanced superheroes. 

‘Well,’ she said as she squared her shoulders and shot Tony her most beatific smile. ‘I’d better get used to it, then.’

‘Atta girl.’ Tony grinned brightly, starting to back away towards the door. ‘I’ll leave you to explore your new kingdom, overlady Lewis, long may you reign.’

And that, as they say, was that.

Darcy’s nerves returned just a little bit as she wandered through the pieces of expensive equipment. This lab was science on a completely different level than she had ever encountered before, and she knew from the busy whirring of machinery and the shifting blue screens that Jane had found her own personal wonderland. Darcy swore she even recognized one or two machines as exact copies from Jane’s original New Mexico base. Someone at Shield - and Darcy had the creeping suspicion it might have been Coulson, who was turning out to be a metaphorical onion of surprises - had apparently been naughty enough to pass the seized goods on to Tony who, in turn, had spruced the whole business up. Darcy could see there being many sparkly rainbow bridges above New York in the future. For now, however, most of Jane’s shiny new doodas were still partially packed away in crates, waiting for somebody to assign them a definitive spot and that was going to be Darcy’s job. 

The center of the lab floor was dominated by a large, transparent column that housed a web of electric cables, pulsing with bright blue energy at regular intervals. Darcy suspected they were drawing electricity straight from the arc reactor under the Tower but she had kind of zoned out during the technical part of Tony’s introductory talk. She wasn’t going to become an expert of green energy soon, either way. The only knowledge she really needed was the placement of the kill-switches and the rest she would figure out in due time.

From the basic laydown that Tony had given her, she’d come to realize that the seemingly open-plan floor was actually divided into smaller segments. Every scientist in residence at the Tower had at least one personal labspace and more could be assigned if that scientist chose to pursue a new discipline. It reminded Darcy a little of a carefully organized chessboard as she walked through it, looking for the floor and ceiling panels that hid the safety barriers that could be lowered in case of a volatile experiment or an outright attack. The thought of the latter option occuring filled her with equal amounts of apprehension and excitement. Yeah, getting up close and personal with alien gods and wacky space magic was awesome and all that, but Darcy would pick a quiet afternoon behind her desk over exploding buildings any day. Speaking of, she’d better try to locate that office Tony had promised her.

She found it in the rightmost corner of the lab floor, cordoned off from the working areas by glass and what looked to be a wall of reinforced concrete. It was not the broom closet she’d secretly feared it to be, but it still looked kind of sad with only a minimal amount of furniture and blank walls. The presence of the bare concrete puzzled her, though. It was so at odds with the futuristic vibe of the rest of the lab that Darcy had to conclude that its placement must have either been an attempt at covering up an architectural mistake or it had been placed there deliberately. She should inquire with Tony in the morning. Yawning loudly, she added it to her mental to-do list, right after a shopping trip to Ikea. Some fake house plants, a cheap couch and a couple of posters would brighten this place right up, she decided as she plopped herself into the leather desk chair. 

She hummed happily as she sunk into the plush cushion and leaned her head back. Closing her eyes, she listened to the distant hum of the lab equipment and let the events of the day sink in. Avengers Tower was going to be her home. She was going to spend the next few years living and working alongside literal heroes who saved the day at least once a month. On top of that, the grant she’d been chasing after for the past year was hers. She’d finally be able to get the hardware she needed to conduct her research on a larger scale: interviews, historical archives and all the fancy graphs she could wish for. Darcy wasn’t going to lie, sitting in her empty office, all of it felt very surreal. Maybe she’d feel more settled after a good night’s sleep…

Darcy swore she’d only drifted off for a minute when a shuffling noise outside her office woke her up. Half-asleep, she lifted her head to peer through the glass walls. Her glasses had slipped in her sleep and she adjusted them quickly, so the rest of the lab came back into focus. A familiar figure was standing in the door, holding two large mugs in hand, watching her silently.

‘Hi,’ Darcy waved demurely, hoping she didn’t have any dried-up drool stuck to her face.

‘Hi,’ Bruce echoed, shifting nervously in place. ‘I brought you some tea.’ He lifted one mug slightly. ‘I hope that’s fine, I could get coffee if--’

Stunned by the unexpected act of kindness, Darcy shook her head vehemently. ‘No, no! Tea is more than fine!’ Her voice cracked a little from disuse, causing the corners of Bruce’s mouth to curl up in the lightest impression of a smile. Like she’d noted before in London, the tiny shift made him appear younger. The aura of exhaustion seemed to slip from his shoulders for an instant, and Darcy found herself thinking that he was rather handsome when not putting all his effort into looking dour and plain miserable. Her previous resolve to needle him weakened somewhat.

‘Earl Grey,’ Bruce introduced as he approached her desk with measured steps, careful not to spill from either of the beverages. 'I had to source from the lab stockroom, so it's not going to be a joy for your tastebuds, but it should do the job.' 

Darcy wondered if he expected her to be hung up on high-quality products after hearing her declaration at dinner. If so, he was partially right, she did appreciate the finer teas in life. At the same time, she felt the urge to make sure he knew that she could do perfectly well without those and that this small effort he’d made was very appreciated on her side. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was his kind of stilted attempt at a peace offering.

‘Thank you.’ She tried to let some of her gratitude leech into her voice as he set one of the mugs down with a soft clink. His eyes met hers skittishly, but he didn’t look away, which she counted as progress.

‘You’re welcome.’ She took a sip from the mug, careful not to let the hot liquid scald her tongue.

Silence filled the space between them with charged energy until Darcy began to feel like there was a bomb about to explode if she didn’t find a new topic to talk about soon. Bruce also grew visibly more uncomfortable as it wore on, lowering his gaze to study the contents of his own mug, which realistically couldn’t be much more interesting than hers. It didn’t look like he was going to revive the conversation anytime soon, either. 

A stab of frustration went through Darcy as she strained her exhausted thoughts to come up with a subject that could help her gain some ground with the physicist, but her mind remained blank. Usually, talking about the small things came easy to her - she shared Tony’s tendency to babble; Bruce Banner’s presence seemed to be testing not only her ability to curb her own impulsivity. Or maybe the jetlag was finally catching up with her. Either way, the tea was suddenly a lot less soothing.

Bruce appeared to pick up on the downward shift in her mood, taking a step back from her desk and clutching his mug tighter. ’It’s late,’ he remarked, showing her the face of his watch. 11:28PM. ‘You should get some sleep before your first day. Knowing Tony, he’s going to make you run a marathon.’

Darcy had little trouble imagining that there would be some pranking involved; the man carried more mischief in his bones than a cornish pixie. ‘Thanks for the warning. I guess I’m going to try to get here earlier than him so I can set my stuff up in peace.’

‘Sensible plan,’ Bruce agreed as she pushed herself up from the probably scandalously expensive office chair. ‘If you need any help with that, Helen and I will be around.’

Chuffed that the scientist seemed to be becoming more at ease around her, Darcy shot him a tired smile as he led her out of the office. ‘Appreciate the offer.’

‘Don’t mention it to Tony.’

A giggle bubbled up from her throat. ‘My lips are sealed.’

Behind them, the doors to her office slid closed with a soft whoosh and Darcy turned to the left and began to walk back to the entrance, expecting him to follow her out. However, a few steps in, she noticed that Bruce hadn’t moved from his place by the door. 

Feeling like she was missing out on something, she turned on her heel to address him: ‘You’re not going to bed yourself?’ 

Across the small distance, Bruce shrugged, almost helplessly, and Darcy had to tamp down the reflex to go over and give him a hug or something. ‘Not yet. I’ve got some stuff to figure out before I can get a good night’s sleep.’

‘Okay,’ she replied, uncomprehending. She was definitely missing some subtext there. ‘Have a good night, then?’

Something shifted in his expression, his smile turned almost sad. ‘I’ll try.’ With a final nod, he started walking down the long walkway that ran parallel to the concrete wall and disappeared out of sight behind a stack of equipment.

For a long moment, Darcy hesitated, questioning if she should follow him. The nice, sensible thing to do was to let him have his secrets for now. If they continued interacting like this, he’d be opening up to her in the future, anyway. She was a patient girl, she could plan like any evil mastermind. But her curiosity was killing her…

Slinking over to the stack of equipment on light feet, Darcy used it for cover while she peered around the corner at where Bruce had gone. A couple of things hit her at once.

First, she’d completely missed that the concrete wall wasn’t an indication of where the floor ended, because it had a door, or rather a gate, further up the hallway. From this distance, she could make out that it was a grey, ironwrought monstrosity that gleamed dully under the fluorescent lab lights and was big enough to drive a decent-size excavator through.

Second, with growing incredulity, she watched Bruce unlock a blue display and punch in an entry code. The gate started to open with a low rumble and the moment the crack between both sides of the metal dividers was big enough to fit him, he slipped through, disappearing from sight. 

Third, that gate could only be installed there for one particular creature. It was a Hulk-sized door. Her office was right up against a containment unit for the Hulk. Going by Bruce’s familiarity, it must have been there for a considerable time as well. 

Darcy abruptly felt faint. She had to lean against the stacked equipment to keep her balance. During all of Tony’s talk, she’d been focussed on what could protect her from danger that came from outside the Tower, she hadn’t even given a moment’s thought to the fact that she’d be working alongside a likely security threat. And wasn’t that strange? How she kept forgetting what lurked underneath Bruce’s skin despite being so fixated on how he reacted to her? 

A muffled roar broke through her train of thought and Darcy stumbled back as the concrete wall shook ever so slightly and continued to do so with every crash that followed. Her heart felt like it was going to combust or rip itself from her chest to flee to a safe haven, but her knees locked and she just stood there, mouth open in horror, frozen in time. Her thoughts raced.

There was no doubt in her mind that the only thing currently separating from an actively rampaging monster was a simple concrete wall. How easy would it be for him to break through. To her eyes the wall looked robust enough, but concrete was presumably quite a flimsy material when placed into the hands of the Hulk. She could see tremors wrack up the wall from where she cowered. But Tony would have known to make a containment cell strong enough to hold the Hulk, right? Hell, Bruce himself wouldn’t risk his friends’ safety without being convinced that his self-appointed cage would hold against a full-out assault.

Perhaps, if she could feel the concrete withstanding the Hulk’s power with her own hands, she’d feel a bit more reassured herself. Cursing her own crazy ideas, Darcy forced her legs to move closer, until she could press her trembling fingers against the concrete wall. It shivered under her touch as the sound of another roar filtered through. A laugh that was more hysteria than joy bubbled up in her chest as she pressed her palm flat against the cold barrier separating them. Unbidden, her thoughts drifted back to the man on the other side of the wall. 

To be honest, she possessed little direct knowledge of the Hulk. Unlike the other Avengers news reports and fansites tended to shy away from him because of his destructive past. The battle of Harlem had stayed fresh in the minds of many New Yorkers, although it hadn't directly resulted in any civilian casualties. Still, the property damage had been extensive and Darcy had read enough Shield reports to know that the army used the incident as an incentive to keep the Hulk on their national security threat list while he was signed up with the initiative. Before this moment - until she'd seen that Bruce put conscious effort into minimising any risk of exposure to the Hulk - the treatment hadn't struck her as horribly unfair, but now it did. Was he suffering in there, a man wrestling endlessly for control with a monster? Or were the two so entangled that their relationship was a natural give and take of control and submission? 

Something tightened in her chest, an emotion Darcy felt absolutely ill-equipped to deal with with her hand still pressed against the concrete. Her lower arm burned dully where she kept it outstretched to count the vibrations that signaled the smashing of giant fists. Did any of those unanswered questions really matter, she wondered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this chapter, please consider leaving a comment or kudos. <3


	5. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some secrets are revealed...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I just say how the essay comments I've been getting are the highlight of my day? You all rock!

Apart from the revelation that her working space neighboured the Hulk’s containment cell, Darcy’s first actual day on the job was pretty unremarkable. Sure, Tony tried to prank her once or twice, but with Bruce’s friendly warning and a bit of help from Jarvis, his traps were easily avoided. She’d been able to direct most of her attention to the organization of her lab. To her horror, she’d discovered that the lab, shiny and futuristic though it may be, was in dire need of some loving. Starting with the food and drinks that were available in the lab because Darcy liked her scientists best when hydrated and full of healthy food. Unfortunately, she hadn’t yet managed to force science onto a regular schedule - Tony and Jane stubbornly refused to keep regular working hours when a breakthrough was on the horizon; so her grand plans to change up the lab operations also meant she had to get up at an ungodly hour to restock the lab’s food pantry. 

Due to administrative hang-ups around food safety, she actually wasn’t able to get down to the local supermarket until the morning of the third day, but she’d made the mistake of checking into the lab first and got caught up in one of Tony’s ‘small-ish’ explosions, singeing her clothes and making her smell like a bonfire. Frankly, the day couldn’t have started much worse, but she’d felt obligated to go out and get the sorely needed supplies anyway. So, one quick stop in the bathroom to get most of the soot off her face later, she left the Tower on a holy mission to get all the caffeine a set of very apologetic scientists could ever need. 

Feeling more than a little disgruntled, Darcy waved her official Shield badge in the direction of the supermarket security who’d stepped forward in alarm at the disarrayed state of her clothes. ‘Just let me get some stuff, dude, before the Tower goes even more crazy.’

He gaped like a fish as she grabbed a cart and pushed past him into the produce section. Grabbing a couple of sweet potatoes and carrots, she started to mentally work though her shopping list. She’d definitely have to make a stop at the dairy section for cheese to make her special lab-fondue later, but it shouldn’t be too heavy since it was supposed to serve as a snack rather than a full meal. She prayed she could lay her hands on a lighter Dutch cheese. Those tended to go down smooth. 

After collecting a few kinds of vegetable for dipping, she moved on, rushing around a blind corner and nearly crashing into an old lady’s cart. Great, she cursed silently as she averted the collision at the last second, the Universe seemed to really have it out for her today. She apologized profusely to the startled woman before pushing her cart into the drink aisle at a more sedate pace.

Here was where gold could be found: rows upon rows of coffee brands greeted her, and Darcy chucked four instant coffee tins from well-known brands into her cart. They’d probably taste like shit, but that mattered little to scientists deep into a working binge. The more wheels were turning up in their brains, the less discerning their taste buds became. Cheap coffee had been a lifesaver in the past when it came to keeping Jane going during a long night, and she’d seen enough of Stark’s terrible diet to know the caffeine levels in his blood were off the charts. No doubt he’d appreciate a drink that wasn’t a smoothie with an uncertain percentile of motor oil mixed in. That was two scientists down. Now for the third…

She hesitated in front of the store’s tea selection and let her eyes roam over all the kinds they had available. Chamomile, green, earl grey, matcha, raspberry, ginger, oolong... What kind of tea did Bruce like? She knew that he preferred teas that had a lower caffeine content because he needed to stay on top of his blood pressure and heart rate to minimize the risk of a hulk-out. Since she’d read the briefing packet on all the Avengers last night, she’d become aware of the fact that Bruce should only be drinking coffee when an appearance of the Hulk was necessary. There was a whole safety protocol surrounding him consuming the drink. Nothing with too much caffeine, then. He didn’t deserve her accidentally fucking up his diet after him being so tolerant of the other changes she’d been making to the lab.

In her short tenure as official Stark lab overseer, Darcy had had to revise her opinion of Bruce Banner and admit he wasn’t all that bad. In a bid to sort out her own feelings towards the most confusing Avenger - hah, strongest Avenger was so dated - she’d compiled a list of things that had earned him a couple of brownie points. 

First of all, he had the actual decency not to engage in any potentially world-ending scientific exploits while sleep-deprived. As Tony had proved that very morning, those rarely ended in the manner intended, to the great misfortune of some innocent passerby. 

Second, as much as Darcy prided herself on taking good care of her scientists, Bruce appeared to have taken up the habit of returning that care. Most mystifying of all he kept bringing her tea. She hadn’t figured out where he stashed the supplies in his pristine lab or what kind of blend he kept serving her (only that it was damn delicious and kept her just the right side of caffeinated without withdrawal symptoms). Without fault, every time she ran through the lab doing her regular check-ins, a steaming cup would be waiting on her desk. Sometimes accompanied by a donut or a croissant. It was the sweetest thing she’d had done for her in a while and that didn’t help to suppress the swell of affection towards him.

Third, and most important, he was just an incredibly decent human being. Since most young ex-college professors were often drowning in college debt, Darcy had assumed that Bruce’s altruism was mostly contained to his activities as an Avenger: saving the world, attending charity galas, etcetera. Until she’d started exploring the Shield database during her lunch breaks - because you could never trust those jackbooted thugs - she’d had no idea about the long list of charities that the scientist got his hands dirty for on a regular basis. After his escape from Harlem, he’d been all over the world assisting medical doctors and delivering relief aid in warzones and densely populated cities alike. Darcy got the sense that this might be his way of balancing out the destruction his alter-ego wrought, but those actions spoke of great kindness all the same. She’d venture as far as to call him noble, though that would probably make him blush in misplaced embarrassment. Adorable.

Shaking her head to clear away the image of green-tinted cheeks, Darcy re-focussed on her tea dilemma. She settled on buying a few different kinds to figure out what he liked (for research purposes only) and loaded her cart full of lightly caffeinated treasure. And if she had to go grab another cart to carry the rest of her groceries, then that was no one else’s business.

The lab was just as lively as before she’d left it to visit the supermarket which meant that she had no trouble sneaking her large haul into the kitchen area that Tony had created right next to her office. On the way back from the store, she’d recruited two junior Shield agents to help her carry all the bags upstairs. They’d shared a dubious glance over the contents but wisely kept their comments to themselves as they dutifully piled all the tea in the kitchen pantry. 

Darcy brushed imaginary dust from her hands.  _ Mission accomplished.  _ Now, she’d better check in on her wayward scientists. 

As expected, Jane was still muttering over her star charts, calculating the configuration of celestial bodies needed to open and maintain a steady connection with Asgard. Darcy left her to her science with a fond pat on the head and a pop-tart tucked in her hand. Next on the list was Helen Cho who was conducting research on a medical wonder that she’d dubbed ‘the cradle’. The woman was perhaps the most sensible of all the scientists that frequented this floor of the Tower, so Darcy did not spend a lot of time hovering around her or her precocious son, Amadeus. 

Generally, Bruce fit into that same category since he tended to regulate his lab hours and downtime rigorously to reduce work-related stress, but Darcy’s fingers itched with the desire to brew him a cup of tea so she could savour the look of surprise on his face. She selected a chai blend for the occasion, recalling the amount of time he’d lived in India while on the run. The liquid smelled so heavenly as she carried it across the lab that she had to keep herself from sneaking a sip. This was bound to put him in a good mood, she thought, pleased at her own resourcefulness. Maybe she’d finally get him to open up a bit.

Starting to feel rather good-humoured herself, Darcy slipped between a crack in the glass dividers that sectioned off Bruce’s part of the lab. Because he tended to work with more sensitive samples, the scientist preferred to keep as many walls between himself and the outcome of Tony’s volatile experiments as possible. She couldn’t rightly blame him for being that cautious, but it frustrated her that she’d rarely seen him face to face after her first night exploring the lab. Team dinners were basically the only occasion she could find to engage him in conversation and even then he remained reticent. Which made his attempts at returning some of her care more mystifying.

The man in question was exactly where she’d expected him to be, hunched over a microscope, notepad and pen forgotten on the worktable next to him. Completely absorbed in his study of one tiny organism or the other, Bruce didn’t hear her approach until she set the cup down right next to the notepad with a soft clink. The set of his shoulders tensed almost imperceptibly as he lifted his head. 

He looked exhausted, she noted with a hint of dismay. Dark circles discoloured the skin under his eyes making his skin appear sallow and unhealthy. He’d definitely not been sleeping in the hours he’d spent away from the lab. The unwashed state of his hair, curls dangling sadly, added to her suspicion that he hadn’t been caring for himself in any sense of the word.

‘Fuck. You look awful.’ The words escaped her mouth before her brain filter had the opportunity to kick in, causing Darcy to nearly clap a hand over her mouth in embarrassment. That could have been worded a lot nicer, and she’d been doing so well too with not acting too impulsively around him. Bruce barely seemed to register the uncouthness of her remark, blinking sluggishly up at her. Without thinking, she grabbed his hand and curled it around the warm novelty mug.

‘Here, drink,’ she commanded him softly, making sure that his grip was sturdy enough to lift the tea up to his parched lips. Any of her leftover embarrassment morphed into concern as he sent her a feeble smile. 

‘Thank you, Darcy,’ he said, voice cracking from disuse. Impatient, she gestured for him to drink already and he dutifully lowered his head to blow on the tea to cool it before taking a sip. His eyelids fluttered briefly in what Darcy imagined to be pleasure. 

‘You should be in bed,’ she reprimanded him when he reopened his eyes with visible effort. ‘Honestly, I’m afraid you’re going to topple over any second and I don’t believe I can drag you all the way to your room, so you’d better move away from that microscope, mister.’ She put her hands on her hips, trying to make herself appear more intimidating. Distantly, she remembered that she’d employed the same tactic back in London and the result had been less than stellar.

‘Okay,’ he agreed languidly, but as she waited for him to get up, she realized that he hadn’t moved a muscle to comply with her demand. History appeared to be repeating itself.

Throwing caution to the wind, Darcy grabbed hold of his shoulders and pulled at them. He swayed forward slightly, but otherwise didn’t react to her efforts. With a huff of frustration, Darcy backed away again and assessed the uncooperative, sleep-deprived scientist. Almost as if to spite her, Bruce took another long drink, chugging the tea like it was cheap beer. She winced at the havoc the hot liquid must be wreaking on his throat. When he finished, he smashed the cup back down on the workbench and smirked at her like he’d just reached the summit of Mount Everest and was waiting for her to award him a medal. 

She shook her head decisively. ‘No.’

His smirk fell and Darcy swore she could see the ghost of a pout on his lips. ‘But I’m hydrated now. According to your finely set rules, I fulfill one of the criteria to continue on sciencing.’ Apparently, sleep-deprivation didn’t take away his capability to weasel himself out of her restrictions. How annoying. 

‘Don’t you use my system against me,’ she bit back, waving a finger in his face. Lightning fast, his hand shot out and closed around her wrist, causing her to freeze with a little startled noise. Without paying her any mind, Bruce lowered her arm and dragged up her left sleeve to peek at the skin covered by it. Before Darcy could get a word of protest in, he had turned her arm towards the bright light of the lab, casting the angry lines of her soulmark into stark relief. She braced herself for the disgust that was sure to follow his inspection, but he took her by surprise, again.

‘Darcy,’ he muttered quietly as he traced the scarred letters that spelled out her name with a warm finger. Her skin hummed to life where he touched it and she shivered involuntarily. This soulmark had been responsible for dragging down her confidence for so many years, and there he was, cradling it softly like it was something to be treasured and admired. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes but she furiously blinked them away. How could a man who obstinately refused to talk about his own soulmark act so considerate towards her? Could he not see that she’d treat his with the same amount of respect as he was giving hers? What did Bruce Banner have to hide? 

Questions burned on the tip of her tongue, but looking down on his disheveled, weary form, Darcy couldn’t bring herself to voice them. It would be unfair of her to invade his privacy while he was in such a vulnerable state. Despite his hot-and-cold response to her presence and her prejudice against his green alter-ego, Bruce had turned out to be a pretty awesome human being, and he deserved better than to have his secrets exposed in a moment of weakness. Sure, her curiosity would be sated if she got to see his soulmark now, but the aftertaste would be bitter. Moreover, any future attempts at becoming more than distant colleagues would be thwarted, and Darcy suddenly found herself not willing to give up on that possibility, minute though it was. No, if she was ever to know what Bruce’s soulmark was about, the story would have to come from his lips. But before they could get that far, she’d need to get him into a bed first.

With a gentle tug, she freed her lower arm from Bruce’s loose grip. His hands slid over her skin, leaving goosebumps in their wake and causing her soulmark to give a dull throb, like it was already missing his close attention. 

‘We can do this the easy way or the hard way,’ she said firmly, circling around him so she could place her hands squarely on his shoulder blades and start pushing him off the chair. ‘Either you get up by yourself and go to sleep in your apartment, or I’m borrowing one of the suits from Tony to carry you there myself. Which one’s it going to be?’

Bruce didn’t budge an inch, but he did seem to consider her words. ‘The armors are keyed to Tony’s biometrics. You won’t be able to grab his attention though, he’s been burrowed inside designs for equipment upgrades since last night. Steve will be with him now for the fitting.’

‘Brilliant,’ Darcy huffed, realizing that she was more kneading his shoulders than pushing against them at this point. ‘I can kill two birds with one stone. Get Tony to gift me an emergency suit, and interrogate Steve about old timey views on soulmarks. He’s bound to be more cooperative than you.’ Immediately, Bruce’s muscles stiffened and he sat up straighter, removing himself from her touch.

‘Is that so?’ He said, voice perfectly even, throwing Darcy for a loop as to what he was thinking. She tried to lean over to get a glimpse of his expression, but he turned, keeping his back to her. Somewhere inside his brain, her words had flipped a switch back to avoidant. She scrambled for a response that would bring it back to rights, but Bruce was already stepping away from the microscope, taking his empty mug with him. 

‘If you've got other places to be, I won't keep you any longer,' Bruce said briskly. 'I'm sure Steve will be glad to have somebody to discuss his experiences with.' The refusal to discuss his own experiences was implicit. Darcy could practically hear the walls coming up between them, shutting her out indefinitely.

A cold sort of anger surged through her, quickly overtaking the sense of disappointment she felt at his relapse into avoidance. Against her better judgement and all the promises she’d made to not give into her impulsive nature around him, Darcy stormed forward and grabbed his arm before he could take one more step away from her. With a strength that even surprised herself, she spun him around and got right up in his face. 

‘No, you’re going to put up with me for a few minutes longer, whether you want to or not,’ she stated clearly, gazing up in his dark brown eyes. She could read his shock clear as day. ‘We need to figure out what the issue is here, because this-’ She motioned between the two of them. ‘Is not working at all.’

Bruce opened his mouth, then abruptly shut it again, lips pursed. His brow furrowed in consternation, but to Darcy’s surprise he made no move to pull his sleeve free from her grip. 

She laughed bitterly. ‘What? You’re giving me the silent treatment now?’

Bruce sucked in a deep breath as if he was gathering up courage to speak. From the corner of her eye, she could see a green tint spreading upwards from the neck of his shirt, but instead of it filling her with fear, it only strengthened her conviction that they needed to put all their cards on the table. Hulk was a direct reflection of Bruce’s emotions, and if the guy’s outbursts were anything to go by, the scientist really needed some kind of release. Moreover, Darcy needed the clarity that honesty would bring before she could make the mistake of investing any more of her energy in this shaky relationship. 

‘Well, why does my spending time with Steve have your panties in a twist?’ She prompted, tightening her hold on his shirt until her knuckles turned white. ‘In the past week I’ve spent hours alone with Tony, Thor and even Clint and you didn’t bat an eye at any of them. Steve’s my colleague the same as everyone else.’ Bruce’s eyes flashed green at the mention of the super soldier’s name and something clicked at the back of Darcy’s mind. ‘If you’re jealous you should just say so because I’m still trying to decide if I’m going to give you that right.’ She finished in a gentler tone.

Bruce stared down at her for what seemed like an eternity as green gradually stole over parts of his face and discoloured his dark eyes. Anger was mixed in with a bone-deep sadness, but she got the sense that neither emotion was necessarily directed at her. When he spoke it was not in the soft, collected voice she was used to, but a low boom that made the glass walls of the lab tremble. 

_ ‘You realize we could break you into little pieces, right?’ T _ he man that was equal parts Bruce Banner and Hulk asked her. 

Involuntarily, Darcy’s knees buckled as her brain processed the words that had been decorating her skin for years.  _ Oh sweet Norwegian surfer gods, Bruce Banner was her soulmate.  _

His hands came up to steady her reflexively as concern laced his voice. ‘You’d better step away now. Before things start to get ugly.’

A nervous giggle bubbled up from Darcy’s throat as she looked up at him in wonder. Her soulmate was a man literally split in two. The metaphorical evidence of the fact that a coin actually had three sides. Now it all made sense. 

‘Did you know?’ She heard herself ask as if from a distance. Some part of her didn’t quite want to believe.

The strange amalgamation of man and monster nodded solemnly.

Somewhere inside of her, Darcy’s resolve hardened until it was as tough as a diamond. As far as soulmates went, Bruce Banner was not the worst of men to share a part of herself with. The Hulk she was less certain of, but she was sure something could be arranged. After all, he fought alongside the Avengers on a regular basis and seemed to get along with them just fine. 

Suddenly, Darcy realized that she couldn’t let him decide what this odd bond between the two of them would develop into. He was too accustomed to being abandoned and stripped of his humanity to see the good it could bring to the both of them if he just left the door open on a little crack for happiness to slither in. On some level he was obviously trying to protect her from himself, but she’d show him she was perfectly capable of looking after herself.

So, she dug in her heels, raised her head proudly, looked him straight in the eye and declared: ‘I. Am. Not. Afraid. Of. You.’

Bruce’s shoulders deflated, like he had all the air knocked out of him, and the green receded slightly from around his eyes. ‘You don’t know what you’re asking of us, Darcy. Our lives are a mess. Bruce would never dream of hurting you, but Hulk…’ He sighed. ‘Hulk is more  _ complicated _ .’

Letting that sink in, Darcy smoothed out his shirt where she’d clutched it and gave him a cautious smile. ‘Like my grandma Lewis used to say “complicated is merely a state of mind”. Between your genius intellect and my people skills, we’ll be able to figure something out.’ 

Bruce didn’t look convinced, but he acquiesced with a small nod. ‘I should have known that keeping this secret was a bad move. You’re not the type to be easily chased away.’

Darcy’s smile stretched into a grin. ‘You bet. Though you’re making me curious, what exactly does my soulmark say?’

The corners of Bruce’s mouth curved up slightly. ‘I’ll tell you later,’ he promised. ‘Let me have that piece of my dignity a little while longer.’

She frowned. What the hell had she said to him?

‘Don’t break your head over it, Darcy.’ He laid his hand over hers and gently pried his shirt free. His skin was more pink than green. ‘You have a long day ahead of you still.’

Darcy nodded in understanding, thinking of the pile of paperwork that was undoubtedly waiting on her desk. ‘Soon, then.’

‘Soon,’ he agreed.

On impulse, she went up to her tiptoes and pressed a kiss against his jaw. ‘Get some sleep, Bruce.’

The soft sigh that escaped him tickled the exposed skin of her throat, causing Darcy to shiver languidly. Her life really was full of surprises, and this might turn out to be a very welcome one.

Darcy’s mind was still reeling as her feet carried her to Tony’s section of the lab on autopilot. Her head wasn’t quite in the clouds, but it sure felt like it had taken an impromptu vacation to the Bahamas to recover from the shock. It would be a while before she could properly process the fact that Bruce Banner - and by extension, the Hulk - was her soulmate. Shame lab safety protocols didn’t condone day drinking. She could use a little pick-me-up. 

Unfortunately, Tony and Steve seemed to pick up on her absent state of mind right away, confusion clear on their faces as they watched her half-stumble into the workshop.

‘Don’t worry,’ she told them, recovering enough of her balance to treat them to a jaunty wave. ‘It’s been a tough day so far and I’m feeling a little wrung out. Nothing to worry about.’

Steve, who was standing in the middle of some kind of fitting station with his arms spread wide as Tony made adjustments, frowned at her. ‘You sure, Darce? You look a bit green around the gills.’

‘Must be Brucie rubbing off on her,’ Tony commented, cocking his head to the side in curiosity as he studied her. ‘I swore I saw him add extra vitamins to your tea a few days ago. He wants you to grow tall and strong like a plant.’

Immediately, Steve’s hand came down to whack him upside the head. ‘You can’t compare someone to a plant, Tony,’ he hissed. ‘That’s just rude.’

‘Assault!’ Tony cried, dramatically holding his head. ‘I’m being assaulted by a geriatric super soldier, Ms Overseer!’

Despite her emotional exhaustion, their antics brought a smile to Darcy’s face. ‘I do believe you brought that upon yourself, Mr. Stark, but I’m willing to forgive and forget if all future comparisons between me and plantlife cease immediately.’

Tony cracked a grin. ‘Knew you’d be good fun when Coulson recommended you. I wholeheartedly promise to never do it again.You’re more of a tree person than a plant person anyway.’

Behind him, Steve groaned and raised his eyes to the ceiling like he was looking for some kind of divine patience. ‘Why do I even bother? You’re absolutely incorrigible,’ he breathed.

Tony merely laughed in response before beckoning Darcy to come further inside. ‘What brings you to my humble abode?’

At a loss for a better place to sit down, Darcy installed herself on a workbench across from the two superheroes, playfully kicking her legs through the air. ‘Actually, I’m here for the centenarian.’

Tony threw up his hands with a huff. ‘Alas, unappreciated I am.’

At which Steve’s brow furrowed in concentration. ‘Are you mixing up Star Wars and Shakespeare references? Because that’s just unfair.’

Tony’s eyebrows shut up to his hairline. ‘Wow!’ You really are becoming a modern man, Cap.’

‘ _ Very impressive you are _ ,’ Darcy croaked in a low voice, grinning as Steve’s face lit up. It was remarkable how the soldier could get so much joy out of something so simple, but then again, Darcy had little experience with how it felt to wake up seventy years in the future without familiar faces to welcome you back. Going by the friendly banter between him and Tony, Steve seemed to be growing a little family in the Tower, though.

In the back of her mind, Darcy started to feel bad about ruining his good mood with her probing, but she reminded herself that it would be another learning opportunity for him. If Captain America desired to modernize himself, he needed to do so in all aspects, including his stance on soulmarks.

‘So, Steve,’ she began, searching for the words that would make the topic more palatable. Tony set back to work on re-adjusting the fit of the uniform’s arm bracers. ‘Do you remember that dinner we had a week ago to celebrate Jane and me joining the team?’

Incredulous, he quirked an eyebrow at her. ‘Darcy, my brain isn't actually that of an old man, you know. Of course I remember. You looked very cute in that blue top.’

‘Thanks.’ Her cheeks flushed a little. It wasn’t every day you received a compliment from a national icon, but she couldn’t allow herself to be distracted by such underhanded tactics. ‘Fashion choices aside, I wondered if I could get your opinion on another subject that came up that evening.’

‘Ah.’ A shadow stole over Steve’s face as realization set in. Guiltily, Darcy took a mental note that Captain America was very bad at the ‘conceal, don’t feel’ part of being a government operative. ‘This has to do with your research, doesn’t it?’

‘Yep.’ She tried to smile encouragingly, but the look in Steve’s eyes only turned more wary. ‘Your response to Tony’s mark interested me. I’d love to hear about early twentieth-century views on soulmates from a contemporary source.’

Steve pursed his lips, considering her request. ‘Alright, but I want to set a few boundaries first.’

‘Fine by me.’ Every piece of information he’d give her would be a step forward in getting him to open up at this point. 

‘First, I want some time to prepare for the interview. If you’re willing to quote me as a source in a dissertation, I should try to be as thorough as possible.’

‘No problem. I’ll create a list of questions and send it to you beforehand.’

‘Second, in return for my contribution, you’re going to give me a primer on modern soulmark philosophy.’

‘Consider it done.’ She had been planning on doing so whether he’d been interested or not.

‘And last,’ he took a deep breath, like he was gathering the strength to make this final demand. Darcy got the feeling she wouldn’t like it. ‘You won’t ask to see my soulmarks, unless I choose to offer them up freely.’

Darcy pulled a face. She should have seen that one coming. ‘I can work with that.’

Steve nodded gratefully. ‘I’ll send you my schedule, so you can set a date.’

‘Awesome.’ She slid off the workbench and dusted off her pants. ‘Well, the day’s still young and I’ve got more work to do. You know where to find my office if you change your mind, Cap.’

Baby steps, Darcy gently reminded herself. You can’t cram all life-changing moments into one day. She wasn’t a superhero yet, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this chapter, please consider leaving kudos or a comment. <3  
> Tomorrow things heat up in the Tower...


	6. The True Hero of the Tale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avengers Tower is not the most peaceful place to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The penultimate chapter! The end is in sight, even more revelations are being piled on and I'm incredibly happy you're all still liking this fic.

As the days wore on and her research really started to kick off, Darcy discovered that she really shouldn’t have been afraid of Bruce avoiding her, if anything she was the one who’d turned avoidant. Against her will, her schedule was suddenly swamped from morning till evening with interviews, data management and all other miscellaneous tasks that came with running a Stark Industries lab. There seemed to be no gap of time that she could dedicate to tracking down her soulmate to finally pin down what they could be for each other. And boy, did she need to have that conversation now, because, even from a distance, Bruce was turning all the right keys to gain entry to her heart.

Instead of just preparing her one cup of tea in the morning, the scientist had taken to having freshly brewed cups delivered to her desk at regular intervals. Accompanying the never-ending stream of beverages, were little notes of support penned in his adorable doctor’s scrawl. More than a simple ‘you can do it!’, these often contained helpful information for her research, including names of fellow scientists and superheroes who would be amenable to participating in her study. She hadn’t expected networking to be one of his strong suits, but apparently Bruce Banner’s seal of approval elicited a sense of trust in those that knew him well. Even Steve’s resolve to keep silent about his own marks seemed to waver as their interviews progressed. In short, Darcy was beginning to feel pretty grateful towards her unexpected soulmate. It was a shame that the influx of new material was making it very difficult to come up with a proper manner of thanking him. 

A more suspicious part of her whispered that he might be keeping her this busy on purpose, so that they’d never manage to get around to discussing her relationship. Darcy pushed that part aside, thankful for the boost Bruce had given her despite his second thoughts. If life was to remain peaceful and productive like this for a while longer, she’d soon have enough free time to properly chase him down, anyway. 

Of course, Darcy should have known that the lack of conflict was a clear sign that something much more dangerous was brewing in the underbelly of New York. While life was keeping her busy at the Tower with running numbers for Jane or dousing lab fires, outside parties grew ever more determined to gain access to the lab, and not all were just interested in the science held within. Some wanted to get their hands on the people.

The incident happened on a Thursday afternoon. It was the first time in weeks Darcy had seen Bruce face to face for more than a few minutes at a time. Tony and he had entered crunch time for a project that involved the creation of a chemical compound used in the destruction of microplastics in bodies of water. So far, the experimental phase hadn’t breached any security regulations, but Darcy had kept a wary eye on their progress nonetheless. There were only so many explosions she could condone in the lab in pursuit of saving the planet before the project would need to be moved to a larger, more secure space.

So, when an explosion had gone off the minute she’d turned her back to them, Darcy had simply thought it was time to move the entire thing off-site. She’d already been collecting the necessary paperwork from her desk drawer when the screaming started. Before she could grab her taser and set off the Tower-wide intruder alarm, the entire floor was filling up with smoke and the whine of something that sounded suspiciously like lasers being fired. With a curse, Darcy grabbed the evacuation checklists and hoped the rest of the Tower’s residents would be better equipped to handle whatever threat had breached the lab.

Taser clutched safely in hand and half-blinded by the smoke, Darcy ducked outside her office and tried to orient herself in the confusion. If her memory of the floor plan held true, the emergency exit was on the West side of the lab, away from the path Bruce had to take to his containment cell when he was about to hulk out, which meant that she’d need to cross the entire width of the floor to make her escape. The question was if it was worth cutting through the central lab right now, because the clatter of falling metal and breaking glass told her it wouldn’t be the safest route in this instance. In the smoke, her right hand found the concrete wall that ran the northern perimeter of the lab, solid and dependable, it would lead her straight to where she needed to be. In a second her mind was made up. So what if she risked running across the Hulk? At this point she’d take getting smashed by a familiar face over being shot full of holes by a bunch of bad guys.

Keeping her head low, Darcy shuffled forward along the wall, carefully listening for the sound of approaching footsteps or gunfire. The nexus of the battle appeared to be moving at a rapid pace from one corner of the lab to the other at an inhuman speed and Darcy got the sense that their intruders might not be of the flesh and bone sort. Over the noise of ricocheting laserbeams, she could make out the whine of repulsors as Tony retaliated. She was relieved he’d managed to at least get into one of the suits.

Almost as if her thinking of one Avenger had conjured up the next, a loud roar went up ahead as the Hulk entered the fray. That it had taken so long for him to appear was a testament to Bruce’s self-control and Darcy couldn’t help but feel a burst of pride even as she froze on the spot in fear. If Hulk decided to retreat to his containment cell, she’d be right in his path. But she couldn’t turn back now, she needed to push forward and join the other lab employees outside for a head count.

Mustering up some adrenaline-induced courage, Darcy forced herself to take one step forward and then another until she could almost delude herself into believing there was no smashing taking place in her vicinity. Only when the sound of low grunts reached her sensitive eardrums did she realize that she’d managed to walk all the way to Bruce’s section of the lab. Instinctively, she lowered herself into a half-crouch to make herself into as little of a target as possible. 

Behind the thick screen of smoke, the Hulk stomped around, crunching machinery underfoot as he presumably made short work of the last intruders. In the distance there were still echoes of fighting happening and she desperately hoped that the big guy would choose to go help there over lingering in Bruce’s ruined labspace. He seemed to be wavering in place, however, snorting in something like irritation. She saw his enormous shadowy figure turn to and fro as if he were in deep debate with himself as to what to do next.

In a flash of clarity, Darcy knew that this would be her last chance to move out of his path before he could decide on which direction to go. She commanded her petrified muscles to scramble the next few metres until she hit the western wall of the lab that bisected it. The metal was reassuringly cool under her fingers as she breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Now it was only a matter of reaching the emergency exit. 

With renewed courage, she hastened along the wall. What she hadn’t accounted for, however, was that this wall of the building didn’t border a walking path like the Hulk corridor; it was part of an actual functioning lab. That bit of trivia hit her like a sledgehammer as she walked right into a row of cabinets that had miraculously survived the battle in one piece. A loud curse wrenched itself from her lips as her knee exploded in white hot pain from the impact. Unfortunately, her cry was accompanied by the shattering of glass as various instruments that had been stored on the cabinet crashed to the floor. A curious huff was Darcy’s only warning of the Hulk’s approach before the ground started to tremble underneath her feet.

Now abandoning all hope of slipping past unnoticed, Darcy’s heart beat like a wardrum inside her chest as she peered through the dissipating smoke for a place to hide. In the vague contours of rubble surrounding her, she caught sight of a single workbench standing upright under which she could take refuge. Sprinting across the trashed lab, she managed to slide under its protection just in time for a big green foot to enter her vision. It was easily the same length as Darcy’s upper thigh and her mind boggled at the implication of the Hulk’s size. How did he even fit into this lab, she thought, dazed. 

Cowering under the workbench as the green giant ambled further into sight, Darcy considered her option. The other side of the workbench was partially blocked by the remains of another cabinet that hadn’t been so lucky, but there was a gap she could try to worm herself through. If she kept quiet as a mouse, the Hulk would probably grow bored of the lack of anything to smash and wander off. That would be her chance to escape.

Around them the smoke was now genuinely dissipating, leaving dust particles to float in the air. With bated breath, she allowed herself a little peek from under the desk at her soulmate’s alter-ego. The Hulk had his back to her, giving her a perfect view of tensed up muscles working away under green skin as he heaved deep breaths. From pictures, she’d always imagined him to look like an overgrown bodybuilder, but the reality was that he was so much more intimidating. This was a creature that was built for violence and destruction. A true apex predator.

As the air cleared up further, Darcy curled herself up in the shadows under the bench while maintaining a line of sight to the Hulk. It was going to be alright, she tried to comfort herself. At some point Hulk would need to leave or he’d turn back into Bruce and she’d be able to laugh this encounter off. Probably, he’d become disgruntled when he’d learn of the risks she’d taken, but Darcy resolved to hug him until they both felt better. That sounded wonderful.

While she got her heartbeat to gradually slow down from its frantic pace, she found it impossible to stop studying the hulking form as he drifted closer to the cabinet she’d disturbed, sniffing obnoxiously like he was a bloodhound picking up a scent. With more light entering the room, she could start picking out details like the tiny shards of glass clinging to his feet and ankles. They couldn’t penetrate his skin, though. She doubted that anything in this lab could, which was both a comfort and utterly terrifying. No matter how scary the Hulk got, he was Bruce’s first line of defense and she felt oddly grateful for that.

Occupied by these ruminations, Darcy didn’t notice the rubble at her back shifting ever so slightly until a hand closed around her mouth from behind. Luckily her yelp of surprise was smothered in the process. 

‘Have you completely lost your mind?’ Somebody hissed in her ear and Darcy almost cried in relief when she recognized Tony’s voice. ‘You should have ran for the exit the second he noticed you. Jarvis would have distracted him.’

‘Why aren’t you in the armour?’ She whispered back as he released her. If he’d approached the situation as Iron Man, he wouldn’t be running the same risk of getting accidentally smashed as her.

Tony let out a quiet huff. ‘Wouldn’t do much good. His responses are prone to be more violent when he sees us in combat gear. Plus, he could bat me out of the air just as easily as he did those drones.’ That cleared up the mystery of who’d been attacking the lab in the first place.

‘Let’s try to get you out of here, yeah?’ She felt him inch backwards, hands closing around her sides to guide her along. She winced at every piece of detritus that scraped over the ground as they did so.

Across the lab, the Hulk’s voracious sniffing seemed to have got some results, because he let out a low, pleased rumble. Before Tony had the opportunity to drag her back from under the workbench, the green giant spun on his heel and charged for their hiding place. Darcy screamed as the equivalent of an iron clamp closed around her ankle and deftly tugged her from under her hiding place, causing Tony’s hold on her waist to break completely. He scrambled after her with a shout, but was stopped by a giant green foot blocking his path.

‘Tin Man, stay,’ Hulk said firmly as he nudged the billionaire back with a wriggling toe. 

On Darcy’s end, the world suddenly flipped upside down, causing all her blood to instantly rush towards her head. A scream died in her throat as the Hulk lifted her up higher by the leg until she was dangling right in front of his face. If possible, he seemed even bigger up close and personal. The news reels and photographs really didn’t do the width and breadth of him justice, Darcy thought, somewhat hysterically. Two vivid green eyes narrowed in concentration as they studied her and she could not get a read on what thoughts were playing out behind them.

‘Darcy.’ Her name sounded like a distant rumble of thunder as it fell from his lips, setting her lower left arm ablaze. Her soulmark flared up with a sensation that was neither pain nor pleasure. It simply was. 

Unable to look away from the creature that was undoubtedly her second soulmate, Darcy watched him raise his other hand, but instead of dealing the expected blow, Hulk simply nudged her side with one thick finger. 

‘Squishy,’ he grumbled as he repeated the gesture with surprising kindness. ‘Won’t do for battle. Should stay in strong room, protected.’

Darcy felt her mouth drop open in disbelief and a not inconsiderable amount of indignation. ‘Excuse me? I will have you know that my taser has taken down gods!’

Taken aback by the unexpected burst of anger, Hulk slowly blinked at her. ‘Smash beats sparks,’ he said, sagely. ‘Glow Stick cannot hurt Hulk.’

Darcy’s fingers itched to grab her taser and test that hypothesis. ‘Want to bet on that, Big Guy?’

‘Wow-wow-wow, time out!’ Tony had apparently managed to wriggle himself free from under the desk and was gesticulating with his arms. ‘My lab’s already in smithereens. Let’s not launch him into another rampage.’

Grudgingly, Darcy drew her hand away again, thinking ahead to all the time and paperwork this incident would cost her alone. ‘Fine,’ she bit out. ‘But he’d better put me down right this second.’

Tony peered up at Hulk, timidly. ‘Buddy? Mind putting the lady down?’

Almost simultaneously, another voice reached them from the other side of the rubble. ‘Tony, Darcy, are you alright? What’s your status?’ Even Steve’s Captain America voice sounded harried as he scrambled over the debris to get to them. He was in full uniform, shield at the ready as he scanned the vicinity for hostiles. 

‘Good timing, Capsicle,’ Tony greeted him, gesturing at where Darcy was still dangling upside down and rapidly turning the colour of a cherry tomato. ‘Care to help me convince the Jolly Green Giant to let your friend go?’

Darcy could feel Hulk’s grip tensing as Steve’s gaze came to rest on them and nearly rolled her eyes. Apparently, jealousy was one of those emotions that transcended the boundaries between man and monster. With two soulmarks confirmed, the big lummox should be realizing that he was the frontrunner in that imaginary competition. 

Steve seemed oblivious to the rise in tension he’d caused and holstered his shield. ‘You can hand her over to me, Hulk,’ he said, lifting up his arms to catch her for when the Hulk dropped her. ‘We’ll take her to medical and get her checked out.’ From the corner of her eye, she saw Tony take a step back, shaking his head. So he knew there was trouble brewing too. 

Darcy craned her neck to watch Hulk’s reaction. He seemed to vacillate between the desire to keep her or let go to smack Steve back. ‘Star Man like Darcy?’ The childish tone of his voice was so at odds with the green giant’s appearance that she couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the moment. 

Steve seemed to interpret her fit of giggles as a sign of distress and made the mistake of reaching out to grab her. Before she could bat his hand away, Hulk sent him flying with a flick of his wrist. A deafening clang reverberated through the ruined lab as the vibranium shield collided with the wall, luckily protecting the soldier from any heavy damage. 

As the sound died away, Tony resumed his cautious approach, hands held up to show he meant no harm. ‘Hey, buddy. We’re not going to take Darcy away from you, yeah? But the way you’re holding her right now isn’t good for her.’ Darcy was indeed starting to feel rather lightheaded now that he mentioned it. 

‘Darcy sick?’ Hulk asked, voice full of self-reproach as he peered at her face closely.

‘Tiny bit queasy.’

In comparison to the other’s demands, Hulk reacted much more positive towards her admission. Lifting one sturdy finger to support her upper back and neck, he carefully lowered himself to sit cross-legged on the floor with her resting in the hollow made by his thighs. She was incredibly grateful Tony had figured out how to synthesize stretchy shorts or this would be getting very awkward. Once he was sure she wouldn’t slide to the floor, Hulk released his grip on her leg and stroked it gently as an afterthought, making Darcy wonder why she’d ever feared meeting the Big Guy. This was great. 

Working herself up to her elbows, Darcy managed to lift herself enough to peer over his kneecap at the other two superheroes in the room. ‘I think I’m good now.’ Steve’s only response was to groan as Tony helped him up from the floor. 

The genius shot her a grin over the soldier’s hunched head. ‘Brilliant, that’s one problem solved. If you’re willing to stay there until he changes back to Bruce, I can get started on the million other ones and lighten your future workload.’

Darcy patted an enormous and surprisingly comfortable green thigh, at which the Hulk let out a row rumble that sounded almost content. ‘It’s a deal.’ 

Unbidden, her lips curved into a smile as she glanced up at the formidable creature. For someone who regularly got compared to a tantrum-throwing toddler, he was pleasantly agreeable when you let him do his thing. Since she’d probably be here for quite a while, Darcy made herself comfortable as the Hulk watched his team mates stagger past.

‘Tin Man smarter than Star Man,’ he commented like he was keeping some kind of mental ranking. ‘But Darcy nicest when Hulk don’t scare her.’

Tony, who caught the entirety of that, laughed in delight. ‘Now look who’s harbouring a giant crush, I can almost smell the romance. If you want to organize a playdate, Darcy, I can set up the appropriate decor in the contain--’ 

‘Sir!’ Jarvis’s tone was harried as he interrupted his creator’s teasing. ‘I’m afraid you’ll have to cut your plans short. A military task force under the command of General Ross has entered the Tower. I have checked their credentials and they possess a valid search warrant for our labs. They’re making their way to the private elevators as we speak.’

The glee melted right off of Tony’s face. ‘Fucking bastard. He set us up.’

The name Ross seemed to light a fire under the present Avengers’ collective asses. A low growl rippled through the lab as one of Hulk’s big hands came to rest over Darcy, shielding her from an invisible threat, while Steve promptly straightened his spine and regarded the both of them critically.

‘Do you have anything that can speed up the transformation back to Bruce?’ he asked Tony, coldly. 

The billionaire, who was already busily tapping away at a small tablet he’d retrieved from his pocket, shrugged helplessly. ‘No can do. I can slow Ross down, however.’

Steve’s forehead furrowed in concentration. ‘Then we’ll have to make do. If we can’t get him to change back in time, we’ll just have to make sure to hide him.’

‘Where? The only place big enough for him right now is the containment cell and that’s the first place they’ll go looking for him.’

‘Excuse me?’ Darcy, who was getting increasingly encased in one of Hulk’s giant fists like the damsel in King Kong, waved her hand in the air. ‘Can somebody tell me who the fuck Ross is supposed to be?’ Every muscle in Hulk’s body seemed to ripple in anger at the mention.

Tony glanced over quizzically. ‘Guess I forgot to forward the briefing package on supervillains, oops.’

‘General Thaddeus Ross,’ Steve clarified, anxiously pacing up and down as he tried to formulate a plan. ‘He’s one of the senior officials of the United States military and the former overseer of the relaunched super soldier program.’

‘Bad Man,’ Hulk growled between clenched teeth. ‘Hurt Bruce. Tried to have Hulk killed.’

A light bulb flicked on in the back of Darcy’s mind. ‘Wait. Isn’t he the one who did all those televised speeches in the wake of Harlem?’

‘That’s the one.’ Tony’s typing on the pad grew more frantic. ‘Steve, if we’re going to do anything, it needs to happen now. The elevator’s on its way.’

‘Fuck.’ The super soldier tried to rake a hand through his hair, but was impeded by his helmet. ‘The only thing I can come up with is calling in a quinjet to fly him away from the Tower, but if they have surveillance on us they’re bound to try to shoot it down and that’s only going to make matters worse.’ Desperation bled into his voice. ‘What the actual fuck are we going to do?’

Maybe it was witnessing his uncharacteristic millennial cursing, but a crazy idea suddenly took hold of Darcy. She sat up straight, or as far as she could with the Hulk’s fingers halting her movement, and started patting the giant’s wrist in a frenzy to get his attention.

‘Hey, Big Guy, can you listen to me for a sec?’ She asked, slightly breathless from the steadily rising adrenaline. In that moment, out of all the present humans, she was the one most likely to get him to follow her orders, so she had to step up and take that opportunity with both hands. Bruce would have trusted her to look out for him just like he did for her. No cups of tea were going to salvage this situation, but Darcy knew that it wasn’t yet hopeless.

As she’d hoped, Hulk’s furious gaze lowered to meet hers and she had to bite through her knee jerk reaction to shrink away before she could speak again: ‘I know that you’re angry right now, Hulk, and that you’d much rather protect us than let us do the same for you, but you need to believe me when I say it’s not a good time for smashing.’ Hulk looked extremely sceptical at that, but stayed silent as she continued. 

‘You’re currently very big,’ she spread her arms to illustrate her point. They were like fragile matchsticks compared to his. ‘Which makes it difficult for us to protect and hide you from Ross, so could you do us all a solid and maybe shrink down to a more manageable size?’

Hulk let out a huff. ‘Puny Banner cannot protect Darcy, Tin and Star from evil men.’

‘No, but he can fit in the footwell of my desk,’ Darcy fired back, smartly. ‘And don’t forget that I’m a big girl with a glowstick who can stand up for the two of us.’ She laid her hand on his arm and pleaded softly, ‘ _ Let me protect you just for once, Big Guy. _ ’

The words seemed to do the trick. A low huff escaped him as he stared down at her small hand for a long moment, expression unreadable. ‘Darcy promise to shoot many sparks at Bad Man?’

‘Naturally.’ She added a smirk to the statement for good measure, which Hulk appeared to find some comfort in, because the arm underneath her palm started to shrink at an achingly slow pace. 

A last rumble left Hulk’s lips. ‘Darcy stay safe.’

‘I will.’ 

The entire transformation seemed to take forever, but in reality it couldn’t have been more than a minute. Darcy made sure to roll off the Hulk’s legs before she could crush poor Bruce with her weight and watched how his limbs returned to a size and form she could reliably identify as the scientist’s. When the shorts dropped to the floor, however, she had to quickly look away before her face could explode from embarrassment. Bruce was… ehm… Easy on the eyes?

Promising herself that she’d look her fill at a later date without two superheroes silently judging her, Darcy scrambled forward as the last patches of the green leached from Bruce’s skin and caught him from immediately toppling to the floor. His head flopped forward inelegantly and he groaned against her shoulder. 

She glanced over to Steve and Tony for further instructions, but the super soldier only gestured for her to go on. ‘It’s as good a plan as we’re going to get. Take him to your office. Tony and I will try to stall Ross at the lab entrance.’

‘Alright, leave it to me.’ 

Slinging Bruce’s limp arm over her shoulder, Darcy wasted no time in shuffling off towards her office. When she’d been navigating the corridor in the darkness of the smoke, the journey had seemed to take immeasurably long, but she actually made good progress now. The glass cage of her office had come into sight when she heard the distant chime of the elevator arriving and the crunch of combat boots hitting the carpet of debris. 

Her heart began to race as Steve raised his voice in an obvious Captain America command. Shit. They needed to hurry.

Putting in an extra bit of strength and speed, she dragged a drowsy Bruce the rest of the way, shouldering open the door to her office with a sigh of relief. Her desk, thankfully, was standing perfectly upright. Not a paper appeared to be out of place. Maybe the glass walls weren’t glass at all, Darcy thought with suspicion. No matter…

Bruce groaned weakly as she practically folded him underneath her desk before quickly seating herself and rolling her chair as close as possible, blocking the view. Her legs pressed against his side and he sagged against them with a sigh, still completely out of it.

She’d only just reactivated her computer in an attempt to look busy when the sound of booted feet grew closer and a small squad of soldiers rushed past. They swarmed down the corridor to the containment cell gate, followed closely by an older man and Tony who were furiously arguing with each other. Steve closed the procession and he sent her a short nod. This was the guy.

Honestly, Darcy’s first impression of General Thaddeus Ross was not a favourable one. Despite his formal military uniform and serious, heavy brows, something about him just screamed  _ slimeball _ to her. She did not need to hear him speak to know Bruce was ten times the man he was. Nonetheless, she gave the man a polite smile when he caught sight of her through the glass before clicking open a few of Tony’s more innocuous files on the elasticity of alien goop. 

Her grip on the mouse tightened dangerously as she saw the general come to a stop outside her office door. He entered without knocking or asking for permission.  _ The entitled bastard. _

‘Miss Darcy Lewis, is it not?’ He inquired with narrowed eyes.  _ Fuck, did this guy have files on all of Tony’s employees or what? _

‘Yes?’ She answered in the most sickeningly sweet voice she could manage. At the moment she’d rather have him think that she was a simple, simpering secretary than that she was the kind brazen enough to have a co-worker hidden underneath her desk. ‘Can I be of assistance, general?’

A hint of contempt snuck into Ross’ expression.  _ Good, he was buying the charade. _

‘Never thought that Tony Stark could inspire loyalty in his employees to the degree that they’d continue working in life threatening situations,’ he said, shooting a glare at the billionaire in question. Tony, very maturely, only tapped his foot in annoyance. Of course, it helped that Steve was keeping a careful hand on his shoulder. 

‘Our CEO would take offense to that, Sir.’  _ Hell, she’d shank you with her stiletto. _ ‘Additionally, it was much safer for me to remain in this office while the battle raged, instead of getting caught in the crossfire.’

‘Sensible,’ Ross acknowledged, grudgingly. ‘What about the other employees that work on this floor. Do you perhaps know the whereabouts of a certain Dr. Bruce Banner?’

_ Sure do.  _ ‘We were in luck that he was not on site when the incident happened,’ Darcy made up the lie on the spot, but she could see Tony nod in encouragement over the general’s shoulder. Jarvis was no doubt feeding him the audio from her office through his ear piece. 

Granting the general her best demure smile, she continued: ‘Where he is now, I couldn’t say. I don’t keep tabs on the Avenger’s activities outside the lab. That’s far above my pay grade.’

Eyeing her distrustfully, Ross opened his mouth to continue questioning her only to be interrupted by disappointed shouts that rose up in the distance as his pack of lackeys discovered that the containment cell was empty. Darcy barely succeeded in keeping her sense of triumph from warping her smile.

‘Was that all, Sir? I’d like to get started on the paperwork for repairs.’

‘That is all.’ Without further ado, the general dragged his feet from her office. The moment the door fell closed behind him, he started shouting at the returning soldiers. She saw the leader flinch back from the abuse.  _ Poor guy. Having to put up with that kind of boss had to be hell.  _

Speaking of bosses. A message popped up in the corner of her computer screen.  _ Give us fifteen minutes to get them out of here. Then unpack the green gift. T _

Her fingers flew across the keyboard.  _ Roger. _

True to their word, Tony and Steve cleared the labs of military personnel in a respectable ten minutes. Checking the security feeds for stragglers one last time, Darcy was finally able to relax her tense shoulders. Bruce had not given a peep since she had stuffed him into the footwell and the quiet concerned her. She rolled back her chair to peer under the desk.

‘Bruce?’ She called him softly as she sank to her knees next to him.

The scientist had shifted his weight to rest against the metal walls of the footwell. His eyes were open, but they seemed distant, staring at nothing. Her concern grew to panic.

Reaching over, she framed his face with her hands, gauging how much of her soulmate’s consciousness had returned to the present, and repeated his name. A shudder wracked through his body and he leant into her touch.

‘Dar-cy?’ He slurred, blinking slowly.

Relief bloomed in her chest. ‘Hey, handsome. How are you feeling?’

His brow furrowed in confusion. ‘Sleepy. What happened?’

‘Very simple, I single-handedly saved you from the military’s evil clutches with nothing but my wits and a taser ready to fire.’ She thoughtlessly brushed a few curls away from his face as he visibly perked up. 

‘Did you tase Ross?’

‘Sadly, no.’

‘Shame.’

Now that she had verbal confirmation that Bruce was still with the living, Darcy allowed him some time to wake up of his own accord. Unconsciously, her gaze lowered to study his body. He was surprisingly thin for a man that could cook like a god, his ribs too pronounced for comfort. She would be able to count them one by one if she pressed her fingers to his side. To keep herself from doing so, she clasped her hands together in her lap and simply watched the peaceful rise and fall of his chest. He turned towards her slightly and she caught sight of a dark smudge under his right pectoral. 

Her heart lurched. It had to be her soulmark! Leaning forward, she read the words that had let him know she was his soulmate.

_ I don’t see you offering that lap of yours up for real estate. _

Startled, she let out a snort. It was really just like her to have the most ridiculous phrase she’d ever uttered be immortalized on a man’s chest. 

Alarmed by her choked laughter, Bruce lifted his head to look around. ‘What’s so funny?’

My words… on…. you,’ Darcy managed between bursts of giggles. ‘They’re horrible. I’m so sorry.’

Understanding dawned on his face with a dopey smile. ‘You could have hardly made our first meeting more memorable. You sat on my lap.’

‘And now I’ve sat on Hulk’s,’ Darcy realized as she slid her hand into his. ‘Guess I was going for a theme.’

‘More of a tradition, really,’ Bruce amended, entangling their fingers and bringing them up to his lips. ‘Hulk was so jealous when I forbade him from meeting with you. He kept trying to make an appearance.’ 

Darcy could have purred at the gentle press of his lips against her knuckles. ‘I’d be amenable to spend more time with him. After all, we need more than two instances of lap-sitting to call it a tradition.’

He smiled dopily. ‘Why don’t we make a third attempt once you feel up to it?’

‘You’ve got yourself a deal, Bruce Banner.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this chapter, please consider leaving a comment or kudos.


	7. Acceptance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last mysteries unravel...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. It's already the last chapter. This past week has been a whirlwind. Thank you so much to everyone who followed my little fic from day to day and left awesome comments. I'm glad I could add more Electric Green content to the platform.  
> If you're left with questions, don't be afraid to hit me up in the comments. <3
> 
> If you want to see more of my work for a different pairing, my Bucky/Pepper rare pair bang fic will be going up soon (probably starting Wednesday).
> 
> See you soon, lovely readers!

The Avengers’ non-denominational holiday party gave new meaning to the phrase ‘Stark extravagance’. In a matter of hours, the Tower was decked out in festive lights and garlands that shifted in colour to reveal different portraits of all the Avengers and their special well-wishes to the citizens of New York. Passersby on the street stopped to point and gape as Captain America fluidly threw his shield or the Black Widow performed a perfect salto above the Tower’s front entrance.

Inside the warm interior of the Tower, Darcy watched the live-feed Tony had set up with a small grin, clutching her festive cup of hot cocoa close to her chest. The hustle and bustle of the actual Christmas party was playing out around her; all of New York’s finest happily chatting and overindulging in eggnog. Even the enhanced types, who were usually exempt from getting drunk, were becoming rosy-cheeked thanks to Thor’s special Asgardian brew which he had flown in via the Bifrost.

By instinct, her eyes sought out Bruce in the crowd. She found him by the bar, talking to a couple she recognized as the leaders of the Fantastic Four. By the way he was uncharacteristically leaning against the bar she could tell that he’d already had his fill of the Asgardian mead. Mr. Fantastic also seemed all too aware of his intoxicated status, not bothering to hide the sneer of derision on his face. Darcy had thought Reed Richards was a pompous asshole the minute she met him so she felt somewhat vindicated at being proven correct.

After taking a fortifying sip of cocoa, because she needed a rush of endorphins to keep her from strangling at least one wayward genius this evening, she squared her shoulders and tried her best to glide imperiously over to them. There was no doubt in her mind that she didn’t look half as elegant as Sue Storm while she did it, but that was of little import when her goal was saving her soulmate from stuck-up pricks.

Bruce’s face lit up as he noticed her approach, giving her that kind of dopey smile that she’d come to associate with the elation of long science binges. Almost automatically, her expression began to match his, just glad to see him so at ease. She hadn’t expected to ever find a forty-something year old man adorable, but he definitely qualified. Hell, the Hulk came out pretty cute too if you managed to look past the scary green exterior to the loyal heart within. She’d never forget how the big guy had put her on his broad shoulder and given her a tour of Central Park, terrifying more than a few tourists but making her laugh all the while with his simple commentary on plants and wildlife. To everyone’s surprise, biology was an interest that was shared between her two soulmates.

As she finally sidled up to Bruce’s side, Reed Richards squinted at her like he’d already managed to forget who she was after just meeting her. In contrast, Sue had the good sense to hide her surprise behind a polite smile. Darcy gave the two of them a stiff nod in return, before leaning up to press a kiss against the underside of her soulmate’s jaw. The little shiver she got in return never ceased to delight her. The bond they shared may not have been the stuff of Hollywood dreams but it was slow and deliberate in all the ways Darcy hadn’t known she was longing for. 

‘Bruce, I was looking for you,’ she said, lying between her teeth. ‘Jane has baked these incredible chocolate cookies and you absolutely need to have one before Thor devours them all.’ She grabbed his hand and started to pull him with her, but he dug in his heels and shook his head.

‘Chocolate can wait, science first,’ he said in a tone that brooked no argument, but left Darcy seriously wondering if he had his priorities straight. 

‘O-kay?’ She allowed him to tug her back in place as her gaze flicked between him and Richards in confusion. From afar their conversation hadn’t seemed particularly riveting or animated like science discussions tended to become. Plus, why the hell did she need to hang around for Richards’ overly complicated quantum physics. At least, Bruce knew how to explain those things on a more attainable level.

Her soulmate was adamant that she stay, however, as he planted her firmly in front of him. ‘Come on, Reed, tell her what you explained to me.’

Richards sighed wearily, like he was being asked to explain multiplication to a toddler. ‘If you insist,’ he began, eyeing Darcy with ill-disguised scorn. ‘It hasn’t escaped my attention that Bruce has been contacting a lot of our  _ less _ ,’ he paused, looking for an appropriate descriptor, ‘ _ distinguished _ colleagues, especially those with a field of study that touches upon soulmate phenomena.’ Grudgingly, Darcy had to admit that she’d probably want to hear him out, even if Richards was being an unbelievable snob about her academic field of choice. 

He dismissed the invisible specters of those ‘less distinguished’ colleagues with a wave of his hand. ‘I simply remarked upon the fact that the theory of quantum mechanics doesn’t directly support the existence of soulmates or soulmarks, and that it likely never will. It is fine to claim that particles behave in unexpected ways when confronted by interference from many factors, but entirely another case has to be made for particles maintaining connections regardless of how they have been separated by space and time. Quantum love is nothing more than a fad, in my opinion. Time will tell if soulmarks are wishful thinking or not.’

Darcy cast a pitying glance over at Sue who was staring at the floor with an air of defeat. How horrible would it be to be cosmically tied to a man who denied the validness of your bond with his every breath? Darcy couldn’t even imagine how she could stand to be with Richards when she had two men - admittedly, quite awful, supervillainous men - pining after her. If their places would have been switched, Darcy would have jumped into the sea with Namor any day of the week. (But maybe that was just her proclivity towards men with hidden depths, see: Bruce Banner.)

Bruce seemed to like Richards’ little diatribe about as much as she did. His hand tightened around hers. If he hadn’t been quite so drunk, she’d be on high alert for a Hulk-out.

‘That’s not what you told me, Reed,’ he grumbled with just enough of a drunken pout in his voice that Darcy had to bite her lip to keep from cooing at him. ‘That was useless bullshit.’

Wow, Darcy thought wide-eyed as she mentally fanned herself. Her Bruce had sharp claws. Oddly hot ones, too.

Richards scowled. ‘This is in your best interest, Bruce. Don’t waste your potential on scientific quandaries that only serve to amuse the masses. You’re way above that nonsense.’

Nonsense? Fuck that! Reed Richards had just won himself a one-way ticket to the rank of unrepentant assholes. Darcy imagined there was a plume of smoke now steadily rising above her head as she glared right back at him. ‘Well, maybe you shouldn’t stick your nose in other people’s research if it’s not to your liking,’ she spat. ‘Bruce can spend time on whatever the fuck he wants and that’s almost certainly not going to be boring interdimensional physics.’

Richards turned red in the face. ‘Boring?’

‘Yes, boring. And that’s from a woman who enjoys quantum mechanics for the masses.’ Pulling hard on Bruce’s hand so he would have no choice but to follow her this time, she began to march over to the couch that was farthest removed from that killjoy.

‘I have never--’ She heard him muttering behind them, indignant, followed by Sue’s much calmer reply.

‘Reed, it’s alright.’

Shutting the two not-so-fantastic superheroes out, Darcy held her head high until they reached her desired destination. Once there she flopped inelegantly on the cushions and dragged Bruce down with her. He let out a soft 'oof', but she knew he didn't really mind the rough landing as he molded himself to the couch without further complaint.

She poked him in the side. 'Hey, can I ask you something?'

'I'm pretty sure we've established that you can ask me whatever you want,' he laughed. 

Internally, she wondered how long it would take for him to regret that statement. 'Alright, then. What did Richards say about soulmates that was so goddamn interesting that you had to drag me into the conversation?'

Bruce shrugged. 'He had this very in-depth reasoning about soulmarks being the result of quantum entanglement going haywire. He did not like that some relationship therapists are also using that theory to bring together couples whose marks never manifested. They call it the quantum love theory.'

'That does sound like something a hack would make up,' Darcy said, considering if it was worth contacting a few of those therapists to get their viewpoint on the matter. 'Could you explain it to me?'

'Quantum entanglement? Of course.' Slinging an arm around her shoulders, Bruce pulled her closer, so that she was practically lying across his chest. ‘The theory of quantum entanglement is not that difficult as long as you keep in mind that time and space are relevant,’ he began, breath tickling the hairs at the crown of her head. ‘For example, we perceive time as being linear, but there is no concrete evidence that this is the case for every instance of time. Time might not exist at all. Does that make sense?’

Darcy hummed, visualizing a pair of scissors cutting through the timeline she’d had to memorize during history classes. ‘I think so.’

He pressed a quick kiss to her temple before he continued: ‘Good. Quantum entanglement happens when pairs or groups of particles share spatial proximity in a way that makes it impossible for them to be described independently of each other. They overlap in a sense.’

Darcy frowned. ‘If they’re like minuscule venn-diagrams, why did Richards make it sound like such a phenomenon was highly improbable?’

‘He was alluding to the large distance that sometimes exists between these pairs. Even if two entangled particles would be miles apart, their quantum state still has to be described as a whole, a system, instead of independent members.’

‘Like soulmates,’ Darcy mused, tracing a finger down Hulk’s mark. ‘Two halves of one whole. Or any other crazy configuration you can think of. That’s pretty awesome. I wonder if--’ 

A loud snore interrupted her train of thought.

Startled, Darcy shifted to look at Bruce’s face only to discover that he’d somehow managed to fall asleep while she was pondering the implications of quantum entanglement. To be honest, she thought he looked even more adorable, all conked-out with his curls in a state of disarray. 

‘Oh, Bruce,’ she sighed, tucking a curl behind his ear so it wouldn’t tickle the bridge of his nose anymore. ‘You really should work on getting more sleep.’

‘Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black?’ Steve dropped into the one-sided conversation with a weary smile, slumping down on the couch opposite them. ‘I’ve seen your work schedule and it’s borderline inhuman.’

Darcy eyed the exhausted slump of his shoulders and decided she wasn't going to add another argument to her evening, no matter how unfair she thought that comparison was. She was in charge of running an entire lab, Bruce only had his research (and occasionally Tony's harebrained experiments) to worry about. Additionally, she had her dissertation to work on. Of course she had to work longer hours than him, otherwise the lab might just crumble at her feet. But anyway, she wasn't going to take his bait. 

After spending hours interviewing Steve on societal issues, Darcy had become proficient at reading his moods and determining if his anger was directed at the world around him or at himself. This definitely felt like the latter. 'What's on your mind, Stevio?' She asked faux-casually, sinking further into Bruce's embrace as he continued to snore softly in her ear, trying to present herself as non-threatening as possible.

The challenge left the soldier with a puff of air and he sagged back against the cushions, not completely relaxed but more open. She could see him struggle to find the right manner in which to put his worries into words. ‘You’re better off asking what isn’t on my mind, honestly.’ He motioned at the party that was petering out around them. ‘The team, Shield breathing down our necks, the rules of modern society I still don’t know about... ‘

‘Seems like your worrying about everything, really.’

Steve’s laugh was devoid of joy. ‘Sometimes it certainly feels that way.’

‘Want to talk about some of them?’ Experience had taught her she could not force him to talk - evidenced by the fact that she still had no information on his soulmark - but him bringing his issues up was a good first step. Maybe taking a few courses in psychology back in college hadn’t been such a bad idea after all. With a team as emotionally complicated as the Avengers, she was really reaping the benefits. 

Steve at least seemed to appreciate her giving him a choice in topic. ‘Shield, I guess. But I don’t want you to get in trouble for criticizing the organisation that employs you.’ His gaze briefly flicked over to Bruce. ‘Not while you have found something good here.’

She couldn’t help but smile fondly at his concern for her. Even while he was having a difficult time, he tended to think about others first, which, granted, might not be the healthiest reflex for the mindset he was in.

Stretching out a leg to pat his knee with her foot in a strange show of comfort, she grinned at him. ‘Don’t break your head over it, I’m about one-hundred percent sure that if Shield ever decides to fire me over giving them lip, Tony will hire me on the spot. It’s not like I actually work directly for them since Jane’s more of a consultant than an actual employee. Bruce and me are golden.’

‘Good to hear,’ he patted her foot in return, then sighed. ‘Shield has increasingly been contacting me about participating in missions outside of the initiative and I’m starting to feel like I can’t keep holding out without coming across as ungrateful.’

‘Why would you feel ungrateful?’

‘Because they found me in the ice and gave me the opportunity to start this new life, reclaim my legacy, find this…  _ family _ .’ He sounded so heartbroken when he uttered that last word that Darcy simply had to extract herself from Bruce’s embrace and cross the divide between them to hug him. He clutched her tightly as she ran a hand across his tense back. 

‘Hey, you build this family yourself,’ she reminded him firmly. ‘You don’t owe Shield for something they had no hand in even if they gave you the initial push. They haven’t exactly helped you navigate modern society, that’s all been by your initiative.’

Steve sucked in a shuddering breath. ‘Thanks. I just feel like I’ve left my days as the army’s dancing monkey behind only to be dragged into a new kind of performance. I never wanted to become a slave to somebody else’s agenda, much less to a great unknown like Shield. That’s not what Captain America was supposed to be.’

‘You don’t trust Shield?’ Darcy asked, thinking of all the shadowy figures that hid behind their screens and thought nuking one of the busiest metropolitan centres of the world was a valid method for conflict resolution. That kind of cold-hearted reasoning made her sick, and Steve too by the look of it. 

His frown was so severe she could feel the stiff knot between his brows press against her shoulder. ‘Would it be terribly unpatriotic of me to say that I don’t trust them to stand for the same values as I do? The agents I’ve grown to know personally, like Natasha, Clint and Coulson, they’re people with good intentions, but most days I hardly feel safe turning my back on Fury. I don’t know if the people behind him have ever had their feet on a battlefield, if they know how hard it is on all of us to put a mission before the lives it impacts.’

‘That’s a fair concern for anyone,’ she mumbled into his hair. She might not have been the one fighting the Destroyer in New Mexico, but she had done her best to keep the innocent bystanders out of the battlezone. As they’d looked to her for guidance, she’d felt the heavy weight of responsibility crash onto her shoulders. Steve had to deal with that every time he stepped out of the door with a mission. ‘The seventy years you slept in the ice, the government spent those years proving all the reasons we should distrust them. Sometimes secrets are a necessity, but the level Shield is doing it at? They’re keeping people dumb for the sake of their precious national security, but honestly, who doesn't want to know how to react to an alien landing in their garden. I for one want to know if I should hold the welcome cookies or a baseball bat close at hand.’

Steve snorted at the image she painted. ‘Wouldn’t you get the taser out instead? Or call for Hulk?’

‘Shhh. Let me live this fantasy out.’ She tugged on his ear, causing him to pull away with a laugh. ‘But seriously, if you feel like you can’t continue to refuse, you could maybe throw them a bone and give those missions a trial run? Regardless, the Team will always be your family.’

His expression turned solemn as he pondered her proposal. ‘I could try, but I won’t be moving closer to Shield headquarters in DC. They’ll need to accept that the Team has my absolute priority.’

‘Precisely!’ Darcy beamed, winding up to bump her fist into his shoulder, but he caught it before the hit could land. With a secretive smile, he flipped her hand and immobilized it while he slowly spread her fingers open. Once her palm was exposed, he sat up straighter to grab something from his back pocket.

Confused, Darcy watched him fish out a folded white enveloppe. ‘What are you doing?’

‘Giving you an early Christmas gift as thanks for the pep talk,’ Steve explained with a wink as he placed the envelope in her hand and curled her fingers around it. 

‘But I still have got a gift for you,’ she pouted. ‘Pep talks are a regular bonus.’

Steve paused, squeezing her fingers and wrist gently, and tilted his head to the side. ‘Believe me, you won’t want to wait for this one,’ he said, voice sobering. ‘Plus, my stomach’s all in knots and I can’t promise you’ll ever see this envelope again if you don’t accept it right now.’

Suddenly, the prospect of the gift became a lot more titillating. For him to be this nervous about something so simple, the content of that envelope had to be pretty significant. Possibly very personal… 

A light bulb flashed to life at the back of Darcy’s mind, and her mouth dropped open in disbelief. ‘You’re showing me your soulmarks?’

Steve glanced around nervously to check if no one else was listening in, but any sober superheroes with enhanced hearing were safely out of range. ‘Couldn’t you say that any louder?’

‘Well, I didn’t exactly want to scream it from the rooftops,’ she answered, still breathless from surprise. Up until this point, she hadn’t actually realized that Steve trusted her enough to consider her part of his little family. She had to quickly blink away the wetness that was building in her eyes. ‘Thank you.’

Steve’s smile in reply was neither sad nor happy. ‘You’re very welcome.’ He released her hand and wrist, allowing her to unfold the envelope and shake out its contents. 

Two sheafs of paper fell out. The largest one felt thick and textured under her fingertips and she immediately recognized it from the premium drawing pads that the soldier liked to tote around to sketch in during meetings. Anticipation filled her body as she carefully turned the paper over in her lap. It was indeed a charcoal sketch like she’d seen many from him before. Darcy marvelled at the delicate strokes with which he’d depicted the dip and curve of an ankle, too bony and breakable looking to belong to the Steve she was familiar with. Two identical lines of text curled around it, twisting together like vines. He must have drawn his old body from memory, she thought, so amazed at the attention to detail that she almost forgot to read the words.

_ Until the end of the line,  _ Steve’s mark said in duplicate. One in clear cursive, another in letters that appeared vaguely cyrillic. Strange to have the same words for two separate soulmates, but not entirely unheard of. She wondered if he had already met both of them.

‘Those are beautiful words,’ she said, suppressing a cold shiver of emotion. ‘Were they the first?’

‘No,’ Steve replied, voice cracking. ‘They came right when I needed them most. When I was forced to give him up.’

‘Him?’

He tapped the back of the second sheet of paper on which, Darcy now noticed, had been written on in fountain pen.  _ Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes at the first annual Stark Expo, New York, 1943. _

_ Oh.  _ Darcy remembered that name from her history books. It belonged to the only Howling Commando that hadn’t survived the war. She hadn’t known that they had been friends before fighting together. 

‘He was my best friend, literally all I had before the serum,’ Steve whispered, seemingly reading her mind. ‘And I loved him, but I don’t think he was aware of just how much when he fell from that train.’ His eyes were pained as he flipped the photograph and revealed a handsome, dark-haired man in his mid-twenties, whose smile was just one shade away from devastating. He’d be hard to resist even without the soulmate bond. Darcy wondered why they’d never gotten together if they’d been so close. Surely, Bucky Barnes wouldn’t have minded the extra dimension of love existing between him and Steve?

‘Why did you never tell him he was your soulmate?’

‘I never saw his mark,’ Steve admitted as his gaze dropped to study the floor boards, trying to hide the doubt and shame that rolled off him in waves. ‘And the time we grew up in wasn’t exactly welcoming to same-sex soulmates or couples. Whatever we could have had, we would have needed to hide it under layers of deceit. I didn’t want that for either of us, so I just chose not to tell him.’

_ He might have loved you _ , Darcy thought silently. _ He loved you without knowing he was your soulmate. That has to count for something.  _

‘Maybe he never showed you because he was just as afraid,’ was what she chose to say instead, resting her hand against his broad shoulder, feeling the tense muscles shift beneath his skin. She knew her words couldn’t be much of a balm to a wound that had been festering for over seventy years, but she wanted to try to ease Steve’s mind a little. Darcy didn’t need to be genius to see that the death of his soulmate was weighing heavily on his shoulders.

A look of sorrow passed over his face as he stroked a thumb over the edges of the photograph. ‘Maybe.’

She placed a finger against his chin and turned his head to look him in the eye. ‘Promise me, you won’t let these past regrets drag you down. Bucky was an integral part of your life before the war, he wouldn’t want you to spend the rest of it dwelling on what ifs. He would want you to seize the day and find happiness and love, regardless if it’s romantic or platonic.’

Steve blinked slowly, eyes gleaming. ‘I will try.’

‘That’s my Captain.’ Darcy sniffed and drew him into another hug before either of them could start crying. Damn, now she didn’t think she could ask him about the other soulmate without completely ruining his evening. ‘I’ll use your gift wisely.’

‘I didn’t expect anything less.’

They stayed like that for a long while until they both felt more composed and ready to face the rest of the room again. Then, Sam called for Steve from the open bar, merrily waving the last bottle of Asgardian mead in the air and challenging him to come get it. Darcy bet he would have one hell of a hangover in the morning if the super soldier didn’t get there soon, so she sent Steve to the rescue with another reassurance that all information about his soulmark would remain between them. This was one thing she’d gladly take to her grave if he wanted her to. That got Steve to smile, at least, before he ran off to rip the bottle away from Sam’s lips and chugged it down himself.  _ Boys. _

Emotionally drained, Darcy wiped at her eyes to make sure no tears had managed to slip free and stumbled back to the couch where Bruce was starting to stir from his impromptu nap. 

Still half-asleep, he squinted up at her. ‘Darce, where did you go?’

‘Nowhere special,’ she answered, tucking Steve’s envelope safely away in the pocket of her jeans. ‘I could hear your beautiful snore concert just fine.’

‘Sorry,’ he mumbled, racking a hand through his hair, causing the curls to stand on end. ‘I shouldn’t have fallen asleep like that.’

‘Eh, it’s probably a sign that we should go to bed,’ Darcy shrugged as she slithered into his lap, legs bracketing his waist. His hands flew to her sides, holding her securely in place. Just like he’d done the first time they met. 

‘You’d have to stand up for us to do so,’ Bruce remarked dryly, stroking up and down her side. She hummed as the warmth from his palms soaked through the fabric into her skin right where her soulmark curled around her ribs. 

_ Wait a second… _

As wonder filled her thoughts, Darcy brought her hands up to cradle his face. ‘Did you say my third soulmark?’

Bruce’s eyes were like dark chocolate, pupils expanding as she leaned in. ‘Did I?’

Smirking, she stroked her thumbs along his cheekbones. ‘You’ll have to check once we actually manage to get over to the bed.’

As he blushed from the tips of his ears to the base of his neck, Darcy pressed her lips against his and sank into the sensation of having finally found all three of her terrifying and elusive soulmates in one neat, brilliant package. Back when she thought her soulmarks had ruined her life, she could have never imagined that she’d be able to love her soulmates like she now did Bruce Banner, with a warm rush of affection that had ample room left to grow for wherever the future would take them.

Just when their lips slotted together in a deeper kiss, Darcy felt like a piece inside of her did too. 

It felt like acceptance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this chapter, please consider leaving a comment or kudos. 
> 
> See you next week with some Chilipepper (Bucky/Pepper) content!

**Author's Note:**

> As always, I'd appreciate kudos and comments. <3  
> If you feel that there are tags or trigger warnings missing, contact me and I'll get it sorted.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Fanart] Acceptance](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22995910) by [Trashcanakin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trashcanakin/pseuds/Trashcanakin)




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